When I was in 9 years old, several times a week I would walk
with my cousin to his house after school.Along the way there was a payphone right outside the bank that we would
walk by. We would always check to see if
there was any money in the coin return of the phone and was always disappointed
because there never was any. Then one
day we realized that we could make free phone calls to 911. So we started prank-calling 911 on the way to
my cousin’s house. 
One day, while at my cousin’s house, after our usual 911
prank-call; there was a knock on the door and a policeman was standing
there. He asked for my cousin and me by
name and asked us to come talk with him in his car. He asked us if we had been prank-calling 911. I started to lie as much as I could trying to
do my best to deny it. But my cousin
manned up and told the truth.
The police officer decided to take me home so he could tell
my parents what I have been doing. When
we got home my mother was there and was very surprised to see the police
officer. He told her what had happened and
my mom sent to my room so they would talk more about the situation.
I will always remember the look on my Mom’s face when she
found out what I had done. It was the
look of complete and utter disappointment.
It was the look of hurt and sadness for my actions. It was the look of a mother who truly loved
me and knew that I could have and should have done better.
In the end I received a spanking from my Dad when he got
home. I was grounded for a few months. I
did not get an allowance for a while and for a long time I could not walk from
school to my cousin’s house. But the
real punishment to me was the look on my Mother’s face. That look has been seared into my brain.
I promised myself that from that point on I would never do
anything again that would cause my mom to have that same look on her face. I know I have failed her multiple times after
this instant and I have not have always been the type of son that I should have
been. But I can say I have never been
forced to see that look of pure disappointment on my mother’s face.
Submarine Homecomings
I love seeing submarine homecomings here in Pearl Harbor
when a boat comes back from deployment. Their loved ones are
dressed in their Sunday best and brimming with excitement to see their husbands
and fathers who they have not seen in half a year. The Navy Band is out playing music and they
usually have hula dancers there to welcome them. But the best part is that all the ships that
are inport sound their whistles repeatedly from the time that the submarine
enters the final turn until she is near the pier she will moor. This usually lasts for five minutes or
so.
All the sailors are dressed in their
whites and are all clean-shaven but battle worn from being on deployment for
over 6 months.
A ships whistle is pretty loud. Per the 1972 International Regulations
Preventing Collisions at Sea, a ship’s whistle is required to be able to be
heard at a minimum of 1-2 nautical miles depending on the ship size. So listening to 10-20 ships all sounding
their whistles for ten minutes is an awesome experience. It does not matter where you are at on base,
what building you are in, or what you are going, you will still hear all the
other ships welcoming home their brother-in-arms.
As soon as the ship is moored family and friends are there
to give their sailor a flower lay and hugs and kisses.
So where am I going with these two stories?
Well, I see our homecoming with our Heavenly Father going
something similar to one of these two experiences. Will He have a look of disappointment on His
face and sadness in His eyes when He will have no choice but to say:
“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” Mathew 25:41
Or will he wrap us in
His arms and say:
“Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Mathew 25:23
I know what I want. I
love my Heavenly Father and just like with my mom I have promised myself that I
will never see the look of disappointment on my Father in Heaven’s face. I have made mistakes and will continue to
make mistakes but I am improving and I am trying. I think and I hope that I am a better person
now that I was and I hope to be a better person tomorrow that I am today. By continually being better and improving, I know that I can hope to receive the hero’s welcome
from Heavenly Father.
