As I'm writing this, it's early August. This just makes me giddy with excitement because we're just right on the verge of my absolute most favorite time of the year: fall - September, October, November. (I know this isn't the official calendar fall, but it's close enough for me.) The closer I get to fall (or "autumn" for you fancy speaking people) the more excited and happy I get. It's very similar to planning for a vacation; the planning and the trip there are half the fun.
I spend much of the rest of the year looking forward to this time of year. I picture myself taking long walks in the woods surrounding our home. (I might not actually take long walks, but I like to keep that option open.) I start thinking about all the comfort foods that I can now give myself permission to fix, because it's just not right having chili in the summertime. I gravitate to the aisle of cinnamon and spice candles at Walmart. I move those long-sleeved shirts closer to the front of my closet, hoping I haven't outgrown them since last year. I have a favorite pile of books that I keep just for fall reading. I love it when the days start getting shorter and that magical fall feeling is in the air. My most favorite thing about fall is the brilliant display of turning leaves, with a faint hint of woodsmoke from the neighbor's yard, the neighbor who actually rakes leaves. l even look forward to football season.
Confession time.
This is the year of my 65th birthday. (And yes, it's in the fall.) Oh my goodness. How in the world has this happened??? I am totally convinced I'm still 20-something until I come upon a mirror. (So lesson learned. Avoid mirrors if at all possible.) But the exciting thing about this social security/medicare age is that mathematically speaking, I'm on the downhill slide. I have already far exceeded one-half of my lifespan. Wait! Did I just say that this was an exciting time of my life? Yep, I surely did.
Several years before I retired, we cashed in our savings and moved to our dream-come-true spot on the farm. I can't begin to tell you how happy that we both are, because we truly absolutely feel like we are finally at home. There is not a day that goes by that we don't comment about how very much we love our home, our dream come true. Yet as happy as I am here, there is a part of me that's homesick for a place I've never been before. It's just like that giddy feeling I get in late August knowing that fall is just almost here. I've planned for this time in my life for lots of years and now I'm closer than I've ever been before.
And not to sound too cliche' with borrowed phrases from southern gospel songs, but Beulah Land, I'm longing for you. If I could continue to be here in our retirement home in the cow pasture for another 30 years, I would be tickled to death (no pun intended). But I put some big conditions on that wish, and those conditions obviously revolve around good health and a sound mind. (Do not laugh. I know what you're thinking. But a gal can hope.)
My very first memory as a child was cloud watching with my momma. She would always tell me that THIS just might be the day that Jesus comes back. She taught me probably from day one to look forward to a home in Heaven, and she lived what she taught. I have always known about Jesus. I have always known that He loves me (loves me all the way to Heaven). I invited Him into my heart when I was 16 years old, so we go waaaayyyyyy back. And like the excitement and preparations for September-November, I've been getting ready for Heaven with a very happy heart for a long, long time. The "fall of my life" is in the air, and I'm getting so excited just thinking about busting through those pearly gates and running to The One who made all this possible.
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
- ! Corinthians 2:9
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there by any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
I'd love it if you'd meet me there!
I'll save you a place and later on we can have a little chat with Mary (Jesus's momma)
and find out what it was like raising a perfect child. I'm guessing there were no "terrible twos".
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So here's my Lucy/Ethel spin on this. Our kids hate it when we discuss "those" arrangements. Surely they don't think we're going to live forever. But we have decided that we probably want to be cremated (when the time comes, of course). And our hymn of choice? "Some glad morning when this life is o're, I'll blow away."