Where's that boarding pass?

I had an interesting experience returning from Phoenix this week. I was down there to attend a training class and dodge the 4 degree weather in Denver. It was also nice to stay in a hotel where there was a shower in the room. I appreciate that because our bathroom isn’t completed yet and I still don’t have a working shower in the master bath. I think that I will sponsor a party in the shower when it’s finally completed….on second thought maybe we’ll just have a dinner to celebrate.
Anyway, the training class in Phoenix….I forgot how tough it was to sit through two days of listening, stuck to a chair, trying to stay awake for even interesting presentations. I attended with my good friend Larry from Ft. Collins and another work associate from north Denver named Terry.
Terry is a character. He has lead a very rough and tumble life, full of all the worldly pleasures available if one has the time and money. Terry has made good money through his life and so he has feasted at the banquet table of thrills and pleasures. He and I about the same age but he looks 15 years older as he has misused his body fumbling after the tinkling lures of the world. Through all the rust and canker Terry has a good heart. He married about 8 years ago and had his first child shortly there after. That young son has really changed Terry’s heart and he is now very active in his church struggling to swim to the surface after a lifetime of abuse and over indulgence. We have talked a little religion a couple of times and I gave him a Book of Mormon a few years ago. He wasn’t that interested.
After class and while we were sitting in the airport lounge waiting to board, he leaned over to me and asked, “What does Mormonism have to do with Christianity?” Well the question caught me by surprise and I wanted to think a minute about an answer so I cleaned up a few loose papers in my luggage and excused myself for a minute to throw the garbage away. When I came back we had a great conversation about the gospel. He asked about polygamy and I got to talk about prophets. He asked about Joseph Smith and I got to talk about the Book of Mormon and he asked about our Christianity and I got to talk about the Savior and his Atonement. It was great and he was interested this time. Then they announced our flight and I went to board the plane and my boarding pass was missing.
I had accidently thrown it away when I threw the other papers away and had to go digging through the trash bin filled with a half eaten McDonalds Big Mac and a sloppy salad. I finally found the boarding pass with an extra piece of lettuce, the flight attendant gave me a funny look but I was able to fly home. I thought about Terry and no matter how much stain and slop we may acquire in this life if we clean off the old boarding pass through repentance we can take our seat for the ride home. I will have to follow up with Terry.