After 10 days of a great Hawaiian vacation, it was time to return to Idaho. The walk down the airport walkway to our plane seemed more like a forced march than a trip down the “yellow brick road.” It felt like a march into exile because we were to endure an overnight flight from Honolulu that would take us to Bellingham, WA; to Seattle and then to Boise (almost 20 hours with little to no sleep). The greater reason it felt like a march was that it represented a departure from Paradise.
Hawaii’s lush, green geography and clear, blue Pacific waters are postcard material for describing Paradise. There is much to enjoy in Hawaii. Growing up along the beach, I especially enjoyed our time on Waikiki’s beaches and found one particularly enjoyable and deserted beach on one of our sight-seeing trips to Waimea. Each of us had our favorite activity and by the end of our vacation, even the “haole” (me) was beginning to feel more like a “kama aina” (a local). I guess it was the feeling of belonging that made the airport walkway feel like an exile from Paradise.
Hawaii and other wonderful vacation settings are considered Paradise because they allow vacationers to escape the “real world.” The challenges of work and home don’t exist there. The work of cooking and cleaning have no place in a vacation itinerary. The routine of school or career are set aside…only for a brief time.
What I, the vacationer, saw as Paradise in Hawaii was merely another day on the job, another moment to cook and clean, another day in the regular routine of life for the local people of Hawaii.
Our visit to Hawaii included spending time with friends and with family who live there. One friend, a police officer, talked about his experiences with the various kinds of people who come to Hawaii. Another family member and native to Hawaii remarked, following a spectacular evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center, that that day was the first time he had ever seen the show. My experience of Hawaii included the spectacular beaches and sights of vacation and the young woman we encountered on Kalakaua Street one evening holding a sign saying she was trying to get home to Montana. It included the merchants along Duke’s Alley seeking to make a sale of t-shirts, jewelry, or other souvenirs to vacationers. Our vacation was made memorable for us by the unknown persons who came to our room to make beds, to change towels and vacuum floors, or who cooked delicious foods and washed dishes. Paradise happens not just in location but includes the people. The people of Hawaii were extraordinarily kind and made our vacation memorable. They made our stay Paradise.
I remember, from earlier Sunday School days, the pictures of Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The picture was that of a lush, green garden with beautiful blue skies and undoubtedly, crystal clear blue waters. Genesis 3 represented an exile from Paradise: the location.
As I have matured in my faith, I have come to understand Genesis 3’s account of the Fall as the loss of a relationship. “When Adam sinned, we all didst fall” goes the Puritan’s school primer. Original Sin changed the relationship between God and humankind. In that respect, Paradise was lost. Thankfully, in Jesus Christ, the relationship between God and humankind is restored; Paradise is found.
I saw, even in Hawaii, a land of Paradise, that sin is present. Yet, in the gracious relationships of the people of Hawaii, I saw a model for the relationship that we can have with God. With that knowledge Paradise has been re-discovered.
May you, wherever your travels lead, discover Paradise!
Edward says... 