The Friendly Skies

Ever since the first time I stepped inside an airplane and viewed the earth from a few thousand feet off the ground, I have loved flying. My first flight, I was sixteen and traveled across country from my home in New York to visit relatives in California. My dad had never set foot on a jet airliner in his life, and it was what he considered an unobtainable dream at that point in time.

We were delayed for hours. If my memory serves me correctly, there was some kind of hydraulic leak that needed to be fixed. That was back in the day when the airlines would do anything to satisfy disgruntled passengers, so when my dad asked the stewardess if he could board the plane and check on his daughter, who was flying for the first time, he was escorted onto the aircraft with all the fanfare that would have been given to royalty.

His greatest moment came when the pilot ushered him into the cockpit for a tour. He was as excited as a teen-ager with a meet and greet pass at a rock concert. I remember him walking down the center aisle, huge smile on his face, and stopping to ask me if I was nervous about flying in view of the mechanical problems encountered. I told him if the pilot was willing to go, I was too!

When we finally did take off, it was dusk, and since we were flying west, we traveled with the sunset all the way across country. I remember the breathtaking view. The sky spread endlessly before us in an array of pink, orange, and purple hues. Lightning lit up the impending darkness, and while other passengers cringed in fear, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. To this day, I love to watch a good electrical storm, despite the obvious danger.

That first flight for me was over forty years ago. A lot has changed since then. Flying became more accessible to the average person, my dad got his chance to fly many times, and I flew in everything from a jet to a glider,

Then the horror of September 11th occurred and nothing in the world of aviation has been the same since.

Well, I shouldn’t say nothing. Anyone who has flown in the past few years knows about the obvious tightening of security procedures. However, a lot of things about flying remain the same. There is still the welcoming smile offered by the hostess when she welcomes the passengers on board. Announcements about emergency protocols are standard. You still find airline magazines in the seat pocket in front of you. You have to fasten your seatbelt and stow your carry on belongings appropriately.

That sensation in the stomach and the gradual receding of the ground, signaling lift off, has not changed for me. It still gives me a thrill. I am always amazed at the miniature model appearance as we fly over whatever city we are leaving: the matchbox cars, busses, and trucks that travel along ribbons of highway, the skyscrapers that appear no higher than two or three feet tall, the trees that simulate backyard shrubs.

Climb even higher and the whole world becomes a kaleidoscope of geometric shapes in various shades of greens and browns. Looking down upon such harmony, it is hard to believe that dirt, disorder, and degradation exist in the world. One can even develop a false sense of security, lulling us into the misperception that order and goodness are the rule, rather than the exception.

A fairyland beauty permeates the friendly skies as the aircraft sails through clouds that resemble giant vanilla ice cream cones, ice castles, and acres of cotton balls, giving a view of a child-like, toy town world below. One can gaze on such a scene with a certain degree of naiveté, if even for a short time, and imagine that all is well. The sun streaming in through the windows, the infinity of the skies at 30,000 feet, the perfect appearance of the world below give us a tiny glimpse of heaven.

I often wonder how God views our world. Does he peer down from heaven and see only the patterns, the perfection, and the potential? Or does he dig deeper and examine the faults, flaws, and failures of human existence?

The concept of God “peering down” from anywhere, is, of course, ludicrous. God is everywhere, so he sees the good and the evil that exist on this earth. He walks with us as we encounter the struggles of our everyday existence. His son walked the earth once and experienced all of the temptations we face.

God sees the pollution, the imperfection, and the chaos that permeates our world and our hearts, but He possesses knowledge of the end result. He created not only the earth, but each and every one of us who inhabit it. Despite the threads that go every which way throughout the course of our lives, God knows what the finished product will look like.

Modern air travel has changed over the years and will continue to change in some ways. In other aspects, it will always be the same, a wonder of technology not even imagined a little over a hundred years ago.

God doesn’t change. He remains steadfast, watching over the world He created and all of its inhabitants. The next time you fly the friendly skies, take a look at what lies around you and praise the One who created all of it.

Thanks for reading my blog!