Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International airport. You’re familiar with it, aren’t you? It’s the airport that spans the border between Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in northeast Pennsylvania.
Actually, I’d never flown there myself until this week. Couldn’t help but notice there were still a few Christmas decorations around, including a lovely set of brightly lit “Wishing Trees.” The ornaments on these trees were round cardboard discs upon which people wrote their wishes for the new year. Here’s a sampling of the wishes I discovered:
- I wish for love, financial stability, no pain and justice for my court battle
- I wish and pray I will be out of my overwhelming debt in 2019
- That we don’t lose the home that Mom and Dad worked for all those years
- I just want my wife to be proud of everything she’s accomplished
- I wish for common sense and cool heads
There were a few wish zingers from kids. Among the many adult comments, I observed these wee wishes:
- A real live unikorne (her spelling, not mine)
- A rubber ducky
- I wish I could get a new Nerf gun
- I wish Leyna were my sister
- I wish that my mom and dad would be happy
Some wishes were haunting. Or profound. Like these:
- I wish for forgiveness
- Let him be okay
- I hope both of my children continue their sobriety
- We wish Grandma peace in the passing of Grandpa
- All people will find and rely on God
But the best wish I found wasn’t so much of a wish as a declaration. See if you don’t resonate with this one:
- Thank you, God, for all of my blessings. Never will I let go of your love and my trust in you.
May your “Wishing Tree” be bright with the light of this kind of love—all year long!