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"FLYING
LESSONS"
By
The Rev. Dr. Susan R. Andrews, Moderator of the 215th
General
Assembly (2003) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
I
have flown almost everywhere I have traveled this year.
Taking to the air has taught me some important lessons about
life:
We’re
all in this together. The intimate ritual
at the security checkpoint never ceases to amaze me.
Off come the belts, the jewelry, the jackets, and the shoes.
Strangers pat me down. When my moderatorial cross
triggers the alarm, dozens of people stare me down.
There is no aristocracy or pecking order. Unless you’re
a pilot late for her plane, you stand in line like everyone
else. We become community - dependent on each other for
a safe and smooth process. Maybe, if Palestinians
and Israelis, angry wives and philandering husbands, conservative
Presbyterians and liberal Presbyterians had to stand together
in a security line for several days, we might indeed have
peace on earth.
The
big picture is breathtaking. Whenever I
gaze down upon the beauty of Washington, DC, or the vast
fertility of our American cropland, or the splendor of Mt.
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, I am reminded of how insignificant
I am in the vast panoply of God’s imagination. I may
be fretting about what I am going to say at the next meeting,
but then I gaze out the plane window and find comfort in
the fact that who I am and what I say is God’s creation,
not mine. I am but a walk-on in this drama called
life.
We
are not in charge. I was stranded out of
state when the floods hit the Baltimore area last year.
On another trip, my plane sat on the runway for an
hour because Air Force One had priority. A week ago,
I flew in and out in 24 hours—both times in sleet and snow.
There was nothing I could do about any of it.
And yet, as a result of these unexpected delays, I had dinner
with a stranger and shared wonderful conversation about
motherhood. I got to read a novel for the first time
in weeks. And in the midst of sleet and snow, I found
myself deep in prayer, finding my weary soul filled with
God’s fresh energy. Thanks be to God for these reminders
that we are not in charge, but that God’s time is always
creative time.
One
of my lasting memories of Africa is of flying in the co-pilot’s
seat in a nine-passenger plane. Below was the landscape
of western Ethiopia, a breathtaking quilt of greens and
yellows. No power lines, no skyscrapers, not even
a paved highway in sight. Captain Solomon kept pointing
out the hidden jewels of his native land. As I felt
our lives blend together, as I marveled at God’s creation,
and as I reminded myself of countless unexpected gifts,
I was filled with gratitude for the providential, life-changing
grace
of
God.
My
friends, buckle up for the year that stretches ahead of
us. Look for the big picture, savoring the people
who share this ride. And give thanks that our sovereign
and saving God is in the cockpit, guiding us to the places
we need to go.
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