Elder Call Leaves from O'Hare

It was a cool morning. . .not too cold, but with a brisk wind it felt a little more chilly than it appeared. At first the sky was overcast, but as the morning progressed, the sun started to shine through. Bob arose bright and early and was dressed in his missionary apparel and packing his final things by 7 a.m. The rest of us got ready, loaded up the car, and began the drive to O'Hare International Airport.

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As the sun began to peek through the clouds, I thought of the words penned by Parley P. Pratt:

The morning breaks; the shadows flee;
Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled!
The dawning of a brighter day,
Majestic rises on the world.

The clouds of error disappear
Before the rays of truth divine;
The glory bursting from afar,
Wide o'er the nations soon will shine.

The Gentile fulness now comes in,
And Israel's blessings are at hand.

Lo, Judah's remnant, cleansed from sin,
Shall in their promised Canaan stand.

Jehovah speaks! let earth give ear,
And Gentile nations turn and live.
His mighty arm is making bare
His covenant people to receive.

Angels from heaven and truth from earth
Have met, and both have record borne;
Thus Zion's light is bursting forth,
To bring her ransomed children home.

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We made it to O'Hare in very good time, with no traffic to speak of to slow us down.

As we said our goodbyes in the terminal, just outside the security entrance to Terminal 3's L gates, I was overwhelmed with love for our wonderful son, who has been such an example to me and Mom, to his siblings, to other youth in the ward, and to his peers at school. Shannon cried first, and then the rest of us started to cry, but we eventually dried our tears and realized how blessed we are to have a son worthy, willing, and prepared to serve the Lord.

I wondered, as our son walked through the metal detector and I watched him walk down the terminal and disappear into the crowds, if this just might be how we felt in our premortal existence when a loved one departed for mortality. . .