waiting in line

OK, I am not the frequentest of flyers.... but I do fly commercially about 15 times a year... and I have to admit that I love Southwest Airlines' business model and its ingenuity; they practically invented user-friendly flying! They are easy to fly and they make you want to fly with them again... and the reason this intrigues me is they did this very very intentionally. But enough about my admiration for an airline...

Here's the deal: while I love the company and its business model, I am not a big fan of the 'arena' seating they offer. I yearn for the old days when you got your seat assignment and absolutely KNEW where you were going to sit. As far as I know, every other airline still assigns seats when you check in; Southwest, however, gives you a letter... you are either an 'A', a 'B' or a 'C'.

So instead of boarding when your 'section' is called, then going directly to your assigned seat, with Southwest you board in the order of when you 'checked in' (and most folks do that online), then proceed to the aircraft where you choose whatever seat is open. Sort of a first-come-first-served situation (more reminiscent of a bus ride than an airline).

It's OK if you don't mind standing in line for 30-45 minutes, but it is completely different than how it used to be....

So right now, at 6:00 am, I am sitting (but about to be standing) at Gate 9 in the Little Rock airport, waiting for that first person to start forming the line. Then, like cattle, everyone will stand up and jockey for position in line...

And it makes me think (which is really dangerous); have you ever thought of the entrance to heaven as a gate with St Peter as its sentry... with a long line waiting to 'get in'? I know we can't imagine heaven, and I understand God used language we could understand when He inspired men to write about it. And even in my wildest imagination, I will not come close to 'getting' it... even when I finally see it, I suspect I will spend the first million years simply gawking at its sheer splendor...

Having said that, I can't get past the picture of some long line leading up to the pearly gates... and it makes me think of the line which is now forming at the 'A' sign by the gate leading to the jetway.

Since I absolutely hate lines (and any other form of waiting), I truly believe there will not be a long line getting into heaven....

Maybe heaven's entrance will more closely resemble the boarding process at, say, American Airlines... maybe, since 'salvation's work' was finished at Calvary, my 'seat assignment' has already been confirmed.... perhaps my 'boarding pass' is guaranteed, so I don't have to wonder 'where' or even 'if' I am to be 'seated'... OK, if I'm getting weary of the metaphor, you've got to be sick of it!

But that's what I'm thinking at 6 am as I wait for the line to start forming.... maybe when I actually wake up, I'll re-read this diatribe and delete it... or maybe not...

Blessings! Good Morning...