The Ship

The Ship

The large ship sat tied to the pier; many hands were busily preparing it to get underway. Lines of persons were walking up the gangway; crowds of well-wishers standing on the pier, some crying, others waving as their friends, neighbors, loved ones walked quietly on board. Soon, all preparations for departure were completed, the gangway was pulled away, and the command was given: “cast off”. The large ropes were pulled free, the great sails were unfurled, and the wind began to fill them out, and the great ship moved slowly away from the pier. The crowds on the pier shouted their goodbyes and waved to the persons on board. Gradually the great ship moved away, picking up speed as the wind filled its sails to capacity, causing the ship to move farther and farther away from the shore. As the distance grew greater, a voice was heard shouting, “there she goes”. And, after a while, the great ship became but a speck on the horizon, and then finally disappeared from view completely. It would seem that in life that would be the manner of things, here for a while, and then gone forever. But, the story of the ship of life is not complete. On a far distant shore, a pier was filled with persons waiting quietly, expectantly. Quiet murmurs from among them, as they waited patiently. On the far distant horizon, all was empty, until finally, a tiny speck appeared on the very edge of the horizon. A voice finally was heard calling out, “here she comes!” And, the great ship, with sails full set, the wind pushing it quickly along, came more and more into view. The voices of the crowd on the distant shore grew louder and louder, waving, laughing, shouting in anticipation of seeing their loved ones again. And, the great ship, with sails being dropped, moved quickly into its place by the pier, and shouts and waves of the loved one on the deck could be seen and heard by all on the pier. Happiness is a reuniting of loved ones who had been absent from their lives for so long.