Richard picked up the phone and listened to the automated recording.  Their flight to Hawaii was delayed.  The plane had been put into the hangar for repairs after a routine inspection.  They would receive a text when it was finished and they were to be ready at a moments notice.  The captain didn’t like to be kept waiting. 

Richard shared the news with Jane and then sat down to watch the football game.  Jane continued packing her bag while Richard whooped and hollered at the television.  “Richard, don’t you think you should pack for the trip?”  “Nah, I’m a guy.  What’s there to pack?  I can do it in five minutes.”  Jane sighed.  She didn’t want to miss their long-awaited flight.

The phone beeped with a text at 6am.  Jane picked it up, the flight would be leaving the airport in two hours.  With a 45 minute drive to the airport and parking and security at that time of day they needed to leave ASAP.  Jane shook Richard awake, “Hurry, the flight is leaving and we must go now!”  Richard, not a morning person and only one-quarter awake,  threw on some clothes and grabbed his suitcase, randomly throwing in the first things he laid his hands on. 

Jane sped down the freeway to the airport and parked in long-term parking.  They grabbed their bags and rode the tram to the airport.  At check-in they were told that security was code red due to a bomb threat.  They could see the line as it snaked well beyond the usual area.  Jane’s turn came and she quickly made it through the scanner and put her shoes back on.  She glanced back at Richard.  Things weren’t going so well.  A TSA agent searched his bag while another agent gave him a full body search.  Her heart dropped to her toes, but she couldn’t wait; she didn’t want to miss the flight.  She picked up her bag and gave one last glance back at Richard.  The TSA agent waved Richard’s BB gun in his face.  Richard looked confused, she heard him muttering something about accidentally picking it up with his clothes in the dark since he had been shooting at the squirrels the day before.  The annoyed TSA agent didn’t appear to be buying the story. 

After blowing Richard a kiss, Jane ran down the concourse to the soon departing flight.  Richard finally made it through security, but arrived at the departing gate just in time to see his flight, with Jane on it, taking off for the tropical paradise of Hawaii.

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise.  When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them.  But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps.  When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’  Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’  ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut.  Later, the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’  But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’  Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.”  Matthew 25: 1-13