Awe and Wonder

Lucas knows the air museum better than I do. He holds my hand and pulls me along to his favorite exhibits. Under Lake Michigan. Old Pensacola. The mock aircraft carrier. The moon display. And, of course, the Blue Angels. Each destination, though he has visited them many times, brings a glow of excitement to his face. He is filled with awe and wonder at the sight of the aircraft. Each one worn from years of soaring high. Now resting still under bright lights.

When I was a boy I used to dream about flying. I would watch Top Gun and wish I was piloting an f-14 Tomcat and buzzing the tower. I read a book about the Wright Brothers and thought about building my own bicycle, thinking this would somehow get me a step closer to flight. My wife had the same problem. She wanted to be the first female Blue Angel pilot.

Today I watch Star Trek and dream of boldly going where no man has gone before. I always grab the window seat when I fly commercially. I still watch the Blue Angels practice from my front lawn. I take photographs of tiny airplane models under glass.

I remember this time when I was in Central Florida. I bought a car in Tampa and was driving it back to Orlando down Interstate 4. Out of nowhere, a WWII era prop plane dashed over the busy road. I could have crashed the car the way I was straining to see it.

In the Bible, there is a book called Exodus that tells the story of Israel being held as slaves by Egypt. God performed many miracles through a man named Moses in order to set them free. From there, they traveled through the desert in search of a land that God had promised to them. Yet, no matter how many times God helped them on their journey, no matter how many miracles He performed, it seemed that they always lost sight of how powerful their God was. Few remained convinced that God would meet their needs.

Throughout Biblical history, the same story continues to repeat itself. God does something great and then His people forget it ever happened. Aldous Huxley said, "That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history."

Watching my son marvel at these works of aviation reminds me of how I felt as a kid. And though I will probably never fly a plane or land a spacecraft on some distant planet, I still have that feeling in my gut that there is something truly magical about flight. I hope I never lose the awe and wonder of a child watching the wheels of a plane separate from the Earth.

There is a Psalm, number 126, that says,

When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.

Restore our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

In the same way, I hope I never take for granted the awesome things that God has done. Like airplanes at rest, displayed under bright lights.