Flight to Paradise (Flight Trilogy, Book 1) (40 page)

She turned and took the second note, but instead of reading it, she held it out, “Would you read it to me?”

He slipped the note from its envelope.

Keri
,

There
are
no
words
to
express
my
feelings
or
the
vastness
of
my
love
for
you
.
If
I
only
live
this
one
day
with
you
as
my
wife
,
it
will
have
been
worth
the
years
of
living
without
you
.

With
every
mile
we
fly
westbound
during
the
next
five
hours
,
it
is
my
prayer
that
we
can
turn
the
hands
of
time
back
and
begin
the
life
that
we
should
have
started
many
years
ago
.

I
love
you
,

Ryan

When he looked up, tears poured from her eyes. She reached for him and hugged him tight. After a minute of silence in each other’s arms, they kissed.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, we will be starting-up now.” The voice of the pilot filled the cabin. “If you would, please take a seat for takeoff.”

“That sounds good: ‘Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell’. I think I’m going to like that,” Keri said.

“Me, too.” He kissed her once more before leading her back into the main cabin to take their seat and buckle up.

The jet taxied to the end of the runway and thundered up and away into the silky-smooth night.

For the first hour of the trip, Ryan and Keri enjoyed the privacy and luxury of being alone while they talked and nibbled at a fruit tray filled with fresh strawberries, pineapples, and assorted cheeses.

Remembering the gift that Martha had given them, Keri went to the rear of the jet’s cabin and returned with the white gift box. “Martha said we should open it when we were alone,” Keri said. “I almost forgot.” Ryan watched as she removed the paper and pulled a 16 x 10 frame from the box. She held the frame out in front of them so they could both see it.

Behind the glass was a familiar cross-stitched scene. It was a late-afternoon beach scene, the sun three-quarters below the horizon, and the silhouette of a bird in flight headed toward the setting sun. Two empty Adirondack chairs, side-by-side, faced the ocean. Three phrases were stitched into the fabric—one below the horizon: LEARN FROM THE PAST; one on the horizon, next to the sliver of orange sun: EMBRACE THE PRESENT; the third above the horizon against a canvas of purple-blue sky: HOPE IN THE FUTURE.

They turned and looked at each other and smiled. Words were not necessary. They had both seen Martha working on the stitching, years ago, and had listened to the many life lessons she saw in the image. It had hung in the small foyer of her house since the day it was completed as a reminder to her before facing the challenges of the world outside.

The impact of the simple illustration had played a big part in the note Keri had written to Ryan the night she broke up with him. It was also the message that Ryan clung to during the years he searched for Keri. It was a message they both now knew—more than ever before—was the essence of life; something Martha Mitchell held dear.

She had always pointed out the bird in the stitching. She called it God’s bird. It reminded her of how everyone is constantly flapping their wings, searching for the one thing, one place, one person that will make them happy. She’d said:
Many
leave
this
world
having
never
found
happiness
because
they
are
confused
where
to
look
.
Some
will
die
in
midflight
,
others
will
fall
into
the
ocean
—
their
past
—
and
drown
.

She believed the ocean below the horizon represents our past; the thin line of the horizon the present; and the limitless sky our future. She had taught that the finite abyss of the ocean is where our mistakes, hurts, and pains of the past must be buried, but the lessons they taught should never be forgotten. She would say:
When
one
stops
pushing
the
present
into
the
future
,
and
instead
dwells
on
the
past
,
all
hope
is
lost
.

It was a message brought to mind for Ryan while at the Naval Academy where he remembered reading Thomas Wolfe’s book,
Look
Homeward
,
Angel
. Wolf once said, “The home of everyone of us is the future.”

Ryan and Keri sat facing each other on a sofa. Ryan reached up and tucked a strand of Keri’s hair behind her ear as they talked. “Now that I’m sitting here with you,” he said, “it seems like all those years of being apart never happened. It’s like the pain of the past has been washed away.” He let his hand rest on her shoulder, his index finger slowly tracing little circles on her neck.

She reached and took his free hand, bringing the back of it to her mouth, kissing it softly. She then placed his palm on her chest and pressed it firmly against her warm body. “Do you feel my heart? I don’t know if you can feel it, but it has never been happier. It’s like a new puppy jumping around in there.”

He reached behind her neck and pulled her close, kissing her softly on the lips. The kiss grew as they freed their passions to explore the moistness; lips still laced with the sweetness from the fruit.

Holding each other close, they embraced the moment with anxious anticipation of what was to come—a deeper union of their bodies and souls.

Ryan reached beside the sofa to a small panel and toggled a switch dimming the cabin lights to a faint glow. The steady hum of the jet’s engines reassured her of the fact that they were safely cocooned and on their way to a long-awaited metamorphosis into oneness.

“So, you never told me where we are going,” she said.

“I thought you liked surprises.”

“I do.” She paused. A smile emerged on her face. “I think I know.” She cut her big brown eyes up at him.

“Oh…you do, do you? he said. “Go ahead. Take your best shot.”

“We’re going to Hawaii, aren’t we?” He smiled. “Look at you,” she said playfully. “We are, aren’t we? You’re taking me on a flight to paradise. How romantic.” She snuggled up against his chest.

“Not exactly.”

She lifted her head and met his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we
are
going to Hawaii, but as far as paradise goes…My paradise is you.”

Her eyes softened. She leaned up and kissed him. “I guess dreams really do come true.”

Thrusting forward, piercing the dark sky, they chased the path of the setting sun, pushing the present into the future—leaving the past behind. The journey of their hearts to find paradise had ended—the life they’d always dreamed of was just beginning.

The End

AUTHOR’S NOTE

What often appears to destroy us is what eventually defines us and takes us to a better place.

Flight
to
Paradise
was inspired by one of the most popular and familiar Biblical examples of moral failure ever written. It is a story of grace, forgiveness, restoration, and hope that reminds us God's agenda is not to crush us under his feet after we fall, but to heal us and restore us to a healthy loving relationship with Him.

David and Bathsheba: "
The
following
spring
,
the
time
of
year
when
kings
go
to
war
,
David
sent
Joab
and
the
Israelite
army
to
destroy
the
Ammonites
.
In
the
process
they
laid
siege
to
the
city
of
Rabbah
.
But
David
stayed
in
Jerusalem
.
Late
one
afternoon
,
David
got
up
from
taking
his
nap
and
was
strolling
on
the
roof
of
the
palace
.
From
his
vantage
point
on
the
roof
he
saw
a
woman
bathing
.
The
woman
was
stunningly
beautiful
(
LUST
).
He
sent
someone
to
find
out
who
she
was
,
and
he
was
told
, ‘
She
is
Bathsheba
,
the
daughter
of
Eliam
and
the
wife
of
Uriah
the
Hittite
.
’
Then
David
sent
for
her
;
and
when
she
came
to
the
palace
,
he
slept
with
her
(
ADULTERY
).
Then
she
returned
home
.
Later
,
when
Bathsheba
discovered
she
was
pregnant
,
she
sent
a
message
to
inform
David
.
So
David
sent
word
to
Joab
: ‘
Send
me
Uriah
the
Hittite
.
’
” (2 Samuel 11:1-15 NLT)

As the story goes, David ordered Bathsheba's husband (Uriah) to be sent to the front lines of battle, then David had his troops pull back, leaving Uriah to be killed (MURDER).

David was restored and forgiven, but his actions had disastrous affects, not only on his personal life, but on the lives of others around him. After David married Bathsheba, their child was born, but quickly grew sick and died. David was constantly plagued with rebellion and personal strife from within his own house: his son raped his daughter; another son killed the son who had raped the daughter; the son who murdered the first son raised an army and tried to overthrow David's kingdom; David ended up killing that son in defense of his kingdom.

It should be noted, although David's mistake cost him dearly, he loved Bathsheba more than any other. It only goes to prove that a marriage built on the healing grace of God—even in the face of previous moral failure—always produces a very special, intimate, bonded relationship.

We are all like David. We need God’s forgiveness in our lives. David realized he could not ask for forgiveness based on his own actions. His actions were reprehensible and he was, no doubt, overwhelmed with contrition. So he asked for God’s mercy based, not on his own goodness, but on God’s unfailing love and great compassion. Few people have committed acts as bad as David’s, but in spite of David’s great moral collapse, God was compassionate toward him.

In
Flight
to
Paradise
, I merely touched on the internal struggles of the characters as they must have dealt with their moral failures. It must be assumed that Keri and Ryan dealt with these issues, much like King David, and moved forward,

while Rex and Emily did not. Failing to deal with the moral failures in our life assures us we are destined to repeat them. We must be willing to face God—and ourselves—with the same painful honesty that was David's first step toward rebuilding his life. (See Psalm 51—the greatest confession ever written).

Learn from the past; embrace the present; and hope in the future. When we stop pushing the present into the future, and instead dwell on the past, all hope is lost.

* * *

Hope
deferred
makes
the
heart
sick
,
but
when
the
desire
is
fulfilled
,
it
is
a
tree
of
life
.

Proverbs 13:12, (AMP)

IN MEMORY

In
loving
memory
of
Martha

My
Mother

FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS

(Flight Trilogy – Book 2)

Trailer

Fifteen years have passed. It’s July 11, 2002. Ryan Mitchell is living in southern California with his wife, teenage son, and five-year-old daughter when he is thrust into his deepest, darkest hour—a nightmare of gargantuan proportions.

Samael Janus, a delusional lunatic, travels from Istanbul, Turkey, to Southern California on a personal mission of revenge. All that stands between Samael and the success of his twisted plan is Captain Ryan Mitchell’s willingness to sacrifice his life in exchange for the lives of his wife and children. As Samael puts it, “If you do exactly as I instruct, your family will remain safe. Otherwise, they will all die, starting with your youngest child.”

Flight into Darkness is a story of struggle between fear and faith—evil and good—and how love can empower the human spirit with divine strength. A flight filled with suspense, surprises, and the promise to thrill. Welcome aboard and buckle up as Captain Mitchell takes off into turbulent skies asking readers to “please, remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened”, have faith, and pray.