Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Passport (07/25/05)
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TITLE: Stairway to Heaven | Previous Challenge Entry
By Carol Sanford
07/30/05 -
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“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run. There’s still time to change the road you’re on.” The words of the rock group, Led Zeppelin, rang in my ears. It was a typical night for my friends and me…smoking pot in a darkened room, music blaring, the TV on with the volume off. Our surroundings made conversation impossible. Not that anyone actually desired interaction. We were “into ourselves.” I passed the joint to the person beside me and contemplated that song, remembering the direction of my life had changed because of those lyrics. As I glanced about the room, I spoke aloud to nobody but myself, “There’s gotta be more to life than this…”
At nineteen, the idea of pursuing a career and becoming a responsible adult was quite distasteful to me. So, inspired by the song, “Stairway to Heaven,” I quit college to “find myself.”
I got a job and moved in with a guy friend who became my husband. Wanting money to travel, we married. We obtained passports and headed to Europe, having no itinerary. Such planning would have denied us the spontaneity of the moment.
That passport felt like a ticket to freedom. My husband and I toured magnificent castles in Great Britain and imposing towers in London, Paris, and Pisa. I was impressed that a little pamphlet with our pictures inside enabled us to easily enter countries like Yugoslavia and Greece.
The innumerable places of worship in Europe were amazing. We hiked to the Lady Chapel in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, viewing the Black Madonna. We visited majestic cathedrals in York and Paris. Ancient monasteries were a fascinating favorite. One subterranean passageway in Italy, centuries old, held dozens of human skeletons. Dead monks, still partially robed, hung from meager hooks, staring at us without eyes. In the Greek Isles, small pristine churches sparkled in the sun against a brilliant azure backdrop. Religion was everywhere; its void immense, as empty as the hole in my heart I was desperately longing to fill.
After two months, we returned home. The excitement of the trip quickly waned and life resumed its previous mediocrity. My job was menial and tedious. Friends were unreliable and transient. My marriage began crumbling like the ruins of the Acropolis. I had no peace.
Coming home from work one night, I stopped at a local diner. With bill in hand, I discovered to my dismay that I didn’t have my wallet. Explaining my dilemma to the cashier, I offered to write a check as payment. She told me I could as long as I had some identification. “Great,” I muttered. “No wallet means no driver’s license.” I fumbled through my purse hoping it would magically appear. My fingers closed around my passport. I still carried it with me for some reason.
“Will this do?” I asked.
“Your passport?” she inquired. “Sure.”
I paid the bill and turned to depart.
“Wait!” she said. “Have you traveled overseas? I’d like to hear about it.”
We began to talk. I briefly related the highlights of my venture. She shared that she was soon embarking on a trip to Europe with an organization called Teen Challenge. I was intrigued and listened attentively. Impressed with her friendly manner and wanting to hear more, we agreed to meet in a nearby park the next day.
The following afternoon, beneath rainy skies and bright umbrellas, I heard the gospel. No commitment was made, but my heart was stirred. A seed was planted, which in time, bore the precious fruit of a transformed life.
That was years ago…
A song and a passport… What could they have in common? Both led somewhere, but not to a place of joy or fulfillment. Proverbs 14:12 states “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV) The scope of man’s perspective is faulty and limited. How incapable we are to change ourselves. But, with God, the infinite becomes possible. Our true passport is the cross of Christ. Embracing it in faith allows us to journey that stairway to heaven with certainty.
“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” Psalm 118:14
NIV
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Very neat--good entry, God bless ya, littlelight
This is a good piece of writing that was nostalgic for me. I especially liked how you made the story come full circle and tie everything up with scripture. Congratulations on your win.