Departure Date

Departure Date
Written during the night of September 21st and the early morning hours of the 22nd…

Every since we arrived I have had one thing continuously in the back of my mind: when can Robert go home? When will he be discharged? It is the question most often asked by others: what does the Doctor say about when he will get to go home? And so I have lived every one of the last 18 days with that day in mind, but without knowing what the actual date will be. Planning for that day has meant many of my conversations about the future have included the phrase, “it depends on whether Robert is home yet”. It has meant keeping his clothes ready in my van – the ones I put in there the morning of Day 3 because I was hopeful that would be the day he would improve and be sent home. It has meant spending time preparing the house for his return – clearing some obstacles to make room for his walker and cleaning some clutter in anticipation of his needs. It has meant me assuming his chores because life goes on and I can’t just neglect them until he is well and gets around to it. The dog needs her medicine daily. The bills need to be paid. And speaking of bills, I haven’t had that duty for years and would rather not take it on now. But because I don’t have an exact date he will come home, nor an exact date or promise of when he will be well – I have to sharpen some rusty skills and perform my duty to him while waiting. In fact, I have to be prepared and willing to take it on indefinitely, knowing that less stress on him will help him heal.
Planning and preparing for him to come home without knowing the actual date, makes me wish I could know the date in advance. I wish I had “Departure Day” circled on my calendar in red ink, so I could plan. Knowing an actual date begins a countdown. Things are planned, anticipated, prioritized and scheduled accordingly. But because I don’t know the actual date, I live everyday hopeful it will be tomorrow, and have tried to be prepared.
I am wondering if I have everything ready. What am I going to wish I would have taken care of if the Dr says in the morning, this is the day? Have I used the time waiting in the best possible way?
This experience has certainly helped me re-prioritize some things:
· I’ve taken time to say important things that I can easily neglect and put off
· Relationships with people have moved up the scale
· Much of the busy-ness of life has been put on hold – I’ve let go of things I thought absolutely had to happen
Why does it take a life-threatening illness, a sudden turn of events to remind us of what is valuable in life? I’ve learned that when a loved one is on a ventilator it is too late to say and do…and all that is left is hope for another chance.
As I sit in our room tonight, hopeful our departure is tomorrow, I can’t help but think of another departure day that always sticks in the back of my mind, even though I don’t know the actual date. I believe there is on God’s calendar, a departure day for each one of us. It is a day in our date book, when we are scheduled to depart life on earth and enter into life apart from this earth. I believe that date was entered into our Day-timer by God, before we drew our first breath. It’s a decided date, more certain than every holiday, wedding, graduation, or medical appointment scheduled in our Day-timer. And just as every important date in our Day-timer approaches with much planning, anticipation, preparation, and excitement or dread as we count down the days, so our Departure Date should be looked at the same way…the only difference being we don’t know the actual date. It still should be the overriding focus of our life, always in the back of our minds.
It is a day when we will either enter into the eternal kingdom of God or we will not, and which will happen is determined by how we have prepared for that day before it arrives. I fear many people have forgotten they have that date already in their Day-timer – forgotten they are marking off the days, and they will not be prepared. Preparing for that departure day is easy to put off when we don’t actually know the exact date.
The Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of all life, has made it abundantly clear that the only ones who will enter into His Kingdom of Light and Life are the ones who lived in relationship with the King while still on this earth – those who made preparation to meet Him face to face by being reconciled to Him through the redemptive sacrifice of His Son’s death on the cross, as well as by bowing their heart and knee to His Authority over all things. And to the unprepared, to those who think they will make time for Relationship later, He will say, depart from me – I’m sorry but I never knew you – I never had a relationship with you while you were on earth. So you will depart to a place outside of My Kingdom…a place where the Light and Life of the King are completely absent…and it will be a day of Great Regret for not preparing while there was opportunity.
As I have reflected on the importance of being ready for our departure date, a line from a song has repeated over and over in my mind: “I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul.” Of course, it refers to the words of Jesus: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done.” Life has a way of deceiving us about what is most important…Our Maker reminds us there is nothing more important than preparing for departure from this life.
Just as I have made preparation for Robert to be discharged out into life away from the hospital, before I know the actual date, so we all must prepare to be discharged into life away from this earth before our Departure Date actually arrives. Because of my close relationship with Robert, I’ve made changes in our daily life so we are ready for his arrival at home. Living in close relationship with the King now means making changes in our daily life on earth so we are ready for arrival at our new, eternal home. It means submitting to our King, serving our King, and letting go of all that belongs to the kingdom of this world – clearing out obstacles and cleaning up clutter, sharpening some rusty skills and performing my duties faithfully to my King. It means not neglecting the important priorities that belong to the Kingdom of God.
I’ve been anticipating with joy Robert’s departure date every since he was admitted to the hospital…and I remain hopeful it will be today!
I don’t know when my Departure Date from this life is coming, but I want to be so ready I can anticipate it with joy…and because I will see my Savior, my God, my King face to face, I live everyday with that day in mind, without knowing what the actual date will be…and I wait, hopeful it will come soon.

~Jeanette