Saturday, we were spending some long hours at a car dealership working a deal. They were busy and the girls got restless. Finally, one old gentleman went and got two huge balloons off the cars and brought them and tied them to the girls' wrists.
After a few minutes, one of the balloons worked its way loose off of Hannah's arm, and it drifted effortlessly up into the perfect blue sky. I guess we all looked pretty stupid standing there gazing up into the sky for a good 5 minutes or so, until it disappeared completely from view.
It made me think of when Jesus ascended into heaven. "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11)
Then I thought of the song, "I'll Fly Away." Sarah sang it in her sweet little 5 year old voice when my grandmother was on her deathbed. What a great thought it was to think about flying away, as effortlessly as we do sometimes in our dreams.
Sunday afternoon, a dear, sweet lady we knew "flew away." After more than 30 years of pain and suffering, she threw off the chains of this body and flew away to be with the Lord. When I heard the news Sunday night, the balloon image came back to me.
There are so many things we don't understand. But one thing we hold onto and believe....that one day we will look into the sky, and the Lord will return in the same way that he went to heaven. And then, I'll fly away....
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