Miserere Mei

And so it begins.

A few minutes ago, I said goodbye to my parents. I wiped a bit of moisture from my cheeks and held back more tears as I cleared the final check for boarding the plane. My parents were standing at the end of the line of passengers; I gave them a final wave over my shoulder as I walked through the doorway towards the plane.

Onto the plane I went, smiling in order to keep back the tears and trying to swallow the lump in my throat. Soon, the door was closed and the plane began backing away from the gate. My mother was in the window waving. I waved back, though certain that she could not see me through the dark plane window and the glare of the sun. The window passed from view, but as the plane rounded the corner of the building, I could see my mother had moved to the window on this side of the building. She was waving, and I could see my father standing a few feet away and then walking towards her.

I held back more tears. Within two or three more minutes, I the plane was in the air. I pulled out my book, then thought I should give a quick scan over tomorrow’s Gospel reading. I opened my prayer book and read Christ’s words: “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” These are powerful words from the Savior of the world. I would ponder them throughout my flight.

I put away the prayer book and pulled out my notebook. Wiping away a few stray tears, I began writing. By the time I began to close, the pilot announced that the plane would land in Memphis within eighteen minutes. Huntsville was already gone, and the plane began decreasing altitude.

Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.