Watching Airplanes

The little 6-year-old girl stood at the clear glass panels. Her nose was pressed against the glass. The window fogged up around her face. She rubbed her tiny hands over the panel, removing the condensation that had collected there. A plane descended from the white, puffy clouds. She spun around, barely containing her excitement, and rushed to the woman sitting across the aisle.

"Mommy! Mommy! Is that one Daddy's plane?" Her big, blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

Mommy said, "No, sweetie. Just keep watching."

The girl's blue eyes lost their glimmer. She'd been waiting for so long. It seemed like forever. Was forever ever going to end?

She made her way back to the window and pressed her face into the glass. Plane after plane landed. Every time she saw a new one she would run over and ask, "Mommy, is that one Daddy's plane?"

Mommy always said, "Just keep watching."

Eventually, she decided not to leave the window. She just watched...and watched...and watched. Forever was lasting forever, she thought. I didn't know that it would take this long. 

She watched the sky go from birhg and blue to dark and black. The stars twinkled in the sky. She watched carefully to see which ones were blinking. Mommy told her that she had to watch closely so she could tell which ones were the airplanes. It was hard to tell because they all looked so much alike!

She watched for hours.

A hand landed on the girl's shoulder. She spun around in shock. She looked at his boots, brown and tough, his light brown uniform. Slowly, she lifted her eyes and saw his familiar face.

"Daddy!" The little girl squealed and leaped into her father's arms.

Daddy held her close and buried his face in her hair. Tears streamed down the little girl's face.

"I've waited for you for so long."

"I'm here now, baby," he whispers. "I'm here."

Now, the moral of the story is this: Just like the little girl, we should always be watching. Jesus is going to return one day. Do you wait in anticipation for the day that He will return and take you home? Will you be this happy to see your heavenly Father?