"WHEN I GET WHERE I'M GOING" 


I don't remember what year it was.  It wasn't that long ago.  Maybe four or five years.  I do remember it was an early Spring day.   Spring is by far my favorite time of year.  It is a time of renewal.  The air seems cleaner.  The trees are getting a new coat of leaves.  The Jonquils are showing off with their new flowers. 

We have Red bud Trees in our front yard.  They are one of the very first things to bloom and this year in particular they seemed to be showing off in their beauty more than in years past.  We also have a Tulip Tree and  for the previous three or four years a late frost had killed the buds and we didn't have the flowers on it that we had anticipated.  This year was different.  The word beauty does not do the Tulip tree justice. 

Spring is also a time of anticipation.  I mentioned the plants above but Peggy has done a great job with our yard.  We have something in bloom all summer it seems, so even with the flowers already mentioned, I knew I still had the azaleas, roses, amaryllis and the other  lilies to look forward to.  This isn't even talking about the fruit trees that had yet to start to bloom.

So as you can see,  all was great.  I had to go somewhere that day.  Maybe to the grocery store or possibly to the post office.   As I recall this day of my life, the destination isn't important.  I just remember getting into the car and driving off.  The temperarture was such that there was no way I was going to use the air conditioner.  I rolled down all the windows and just let God's creation fill my body.  I know I had a big smile on my face as turned on to the highway on this magnificent day.  I turned on the radio.  On a day like this you need a little music.  As I found the station I wanted to listen to, I thought to myself,  "Nothing could make this day better."  Little did I know what was to follow.

A song came on the radio.  A song I had heard many times before, but as I think back now, I ask,  "Had I really heard this song?"  Sure I had heard the music.  I even knew most of the words but had I listened to the song?  Or maybe the best way to explain what I'm trying to say is    "Had I let the song speak to me?"  

The song started off :
                                                                                                                            When I get where I'm going
On the far side of the sky
The first thing that I'm gonna do
Is spread my wings and fly

As I heard this verse I thought......What a wonderful thing it will be to fly around, to feel the freedom, to enjoy wonders of heaven....And then the next verse was sung:

I'm gonna land beside a lion
And run my fingers through his mane
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain

Oh the things I will see I thought.  All the wonders of God's beautiful creation will be at my fingertips.  I will be able to enjoy them more than I do even on a beautiful day like today.  The smile on my face by then was so big I knew that if a car pulled up beside me and glanced over they would wonder what I was up to.  But then came the next verse:

I'm gonna walk with my grand daddy
And he'll match me step for step
And I'll tell him how I missed him
Every minute since he left
Then I'll hug his neck

As i heard this verse, not my grand daddy, but  my dad came to my mind.  The memory of the last years of his life with first the limps,  then the canes and walkers, and then him being bed ridden.  But then the thought of him once again matching me step for step.  His laughter.  We will once again throw a ball and fish for crappy. Oh the things I will tell him.  As I thought of this the tears started to well up in my eyes.  I could tell my nose was beginning to run.  Then this chorus came out:

Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

As this chorus was being sung, my thoughts went to others that had gone before me.  Thoughts of  my Mom and aunts and uncles.  Of my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law.  Of Peggy's baby sister who had died at the age of four.  Of my cousin Ginny's daughter Kay Cee that I never took the time to really get to know.  Of my high school friends that God called home at early ages.  Oh what a reunion it will be I thought
...what a reunion it will be.  By now the tears were streaming down my face.  Not sad tears but happy tears.  Tears of excitement, and I thought to myself.....What will the people in the car next to me think now?...And then came the final verse...The verse that broke the dam:

But when I get where I'm going
And I see my maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of his amazing grace
Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
Hallelujah
I will love and have no fear
When I get where I'm going
Yeah when I get where I'm going
All of a sudden I was crying like a baby.  I was raising my hands praising God.  I was shouting Hallelujahs and never wanted the song to end.  I knew if the police pulled me over they would think I was on some kind of drugs but I didn't care because I was high on the love of My God.  Think about those last two words of the previous sentence......MY GOD...MY GOD is an awesomeGod................................................

                         Yeah...When I get where I'm going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!