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Many years ago when we were both young, he took me up in a single-engine plane. I was married to his older sister, and I had four small boys at the time. Somehow he had talked me into going “up” that day. I could feel his enthusiasm, and he couldn’t contain his smile as he dipped the plane’s wings and saw that my face was turning white. I remember the moment because the only thing between me and death was the plexiglass window of the aircraft. My stomach dropped, and I gripped on tight to…well… anything within reach. I glanced his way, trying to smile like I was enjoying it. His smile grew wider, and much like his Dad, he burst into laughter. The kind of laugh that says, “Come join me!” So I laughed too! As he straightened the plane out, I said, “Bob, I have four kids and a wife to feed!” He just grinned! When we landed and as we got out of the plane, he exclaimed, “Come on Scott, tell me that wasn’t fun?!”

My brother-in-law took his last flight on March 15th. Destination: back home to where we all came from. He was relatively young, just sixty-one, when cancer took his life. My wife and I spent most of our life apart from him. He was in the West, and my wife and I were on the East Coast. We were lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks with him just before he died. Death seems like such a final event! It’s always a marvel to ponder it. The sadness of it all. The depth of which, for many, is unbearable. And I must add that it is a painful time no matter your faith. It is a reminder that life is short and that the ones we love always hold a sacred place in our hearts, no matter time or distance. There is something special about family. Who can explain it?

Shortly before my wife and I left his bedside a few days before he passed, I held his hand and touched his face. He looked at me and my parting words were, “We will see you again!” And I meant it. I really meant that we will see him again on the other side. I hold firmly to that conviction.

Easter is upon us once again. The celebration of which, is the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. The bands of death were broken when He rose from the dead and gave the eternal ‘gift of life’ to everyone who has ever lived here upon the earth.

Bob lived a full life. He was a man of adventure and a giver! His laugh, smile, and generosity are still with him—as are all his other mortal attributes! He has just taken his last flight to a place called “home,” where he will be greeted by loving family, friends, and loved ones.

My brother-in-law has flown thousands of times in his life. On this last flight, though, he didn’t need his plane. The clouds parted as he ascended higher and higher into the light of eternal life. His plane is grounded, but his soul is soaring into infinity and beyond. I know when the day comes that I leave this world, he will be on the other side waiting for me with a smile, and he will say with a twinkle in his eye, “Come on Scott, tell me that wasn’t fun?!”