{Straight From the Heart}   *Between Heaven and Earth*  1/6/00
                                                                                                                        

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Between Heaven and Earth

By Terri McPherson


On the occasion of my fortieth birthday, my handsome husband surprised me
with two tickets for a five day Caribbean cruise. The months leading up to
our frolic in the sun were filled with eager anticipation. I thumbed through
the colorful brochures from our travel agent repeatedly, and read each
promise of exotic adventure with childlike enthusiasm.

As the day of our departure grew near, a fidgety thought began to wiggle its
way to the forefront of my mind.  I was going to be incommunicado with the
outside world for five full days. Like a growing majority of the population,
I am tied to technology. My daily commute on the electronic super-highway
allows me to communicate across thousands of miles without drowning in long
distance charges. It gives me control of which up-to-the-minute news pieces
and noteworthy subjects I want to read and offers the information
continuously throughout the day and night. Instant access to a wealth of
worldwide business data sits at my fingertips. Electronic communication
dissolves all borders and distance.

On D-day, I put the dust cover on my desktop computer, packed a book instead
of my laptop and left the house feeling like I had an appendage missing. My
husband, who has an aversion for highways that don't grip the solid rubber
of a tire, tried to look sympathetic. But the expression on his face leaned
more toward pity.

The cruise ship loomed large as we approached the dock. Soon, we were swept
up in the bustle of getting boarded and settled into our room. Once the
monstrous boat was underway, we stood on our private balcony and waved
goodbye to solid land. By nightfall, we had 'oohed' and 'aahed' our way
through each luxurious level of the ship.

Mesmerized by the lapping of the waves against the side of the boat and the
glow of the moon reflecting off the water, I stood on our balcony till the
wee hours of the morning. A shift in the way I perceived the world began to
take place. The realization of the minuscule amount of space I actually took
up on this planet, dawned with great magnitude.

By taking advantage of the instantaneous wonders of technology, my view of
the world had become distorted. The ease of sending and receiving
information across whole continents in less time than it took to sneeze and
bless myself, made the earth feel quite small. Standing in the face of the
vast sky and the endless expanse of the ocean repaired my faulty perception.
I spent more time on that balcony than anywhere else, for the duration of
our trip.

Slowly, the importance of my modern lifestyle slipped away. The movement of
the water, the motion of the stars and the beating of my heart fell into a
familiar rhythm. Childhood memories rushed in to greet me. The little girl
who used to gaze up at the stars and ponder the mysteries of the universe in
earnest, stared out from my eyes once more. For the first time in a very
long time, my mind was free of noise, no television, no radio, no outside
opinions and no words on my computer screen. I could hear the voice of my
own true thoughts.

What I owned and what I did with my possessions was of little significance,
when the only thing standing between heaven and earth, was me.

Copyright © 1999
Terri McPherson
tmcphers@mnsi.net
Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Terri lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has two wonderful 
children, a five-year-old grandangel and a terrific husband. She 
works as a Writer / Web Designer / Production Assistant for a local 
production company and teaches advanced clogging classes for the 
Border City Cloggers. Her writing has appeared in numerous online 
publications.

Check out her website:
WiseHearts... Weaving Small Wisdoms Through The Fabric Of Life
Wise Hearts! Weaving Small Wisdoms Through Th... 
http://www.mnsi.net/~tmcphers/index.htm



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Thought For The Day:

"God has a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the 
impossible."
(Richard Exley)

Verse for the Day:

And Jesus looking upon them said,  "With men it is impossible, but 
not with God: for with God all things are possible."
Mark 10:27

Kid's Thought For The day:

"Don't argue for a later bedtime when you still have pajamas with feet."

Parent's Thought For The Day

"I regret often that I have spoken; never that I have been silent."
(Syrus)

Coach's Thought For The Day

"The Lord gave us two ends to use; one to think with, the other to 
sit on.  Which one we use will determine how well we do in life.  
In other words, heads you win, tails you lose."

Deep Thought For The Day:

"If a man says something in the woods and there are no women
 there, is he still wrong?"


  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    THUNDER27@aol.com   http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/  \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \   Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body I live for the Son
   \_\/   of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20