I am about 1/3 of the way through a mini-tour I am doing for Freeman, and one of the things I love most about traveling is the view from the plane.  For a while, when I traveled regularly, I became cold to it.  I had myself trained to fall asleep before we took off and I would wake up when we touched down.  But since I don’t fly regularly anymore, and since I was sick on my last flight this week, I was glued to the window.  Everytime I look out the window of a plane, I am reminded how very small we are.  On approach I love it when you can see highways and they look like tiny stripes and semi-trucks are the size of ants.  Even towns and mountains seem miniscule from the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner.  It is no wonder that, to the world, the idea of a God who sees everything and knows each of us intimately is absolute foolishness.  A God that big is foolishness, except to those of us who believe.  The sheer size of the world and the number of people in it are overwhelming and we can’t wrap our minds around a God big enough to hold that world in His hands in our rational minds.  But in His grace, He has revealed Himself to us in small ways – intimate ways, and He gives us faith to believe.

That’s why I love being on a plane.  Suddenly I realize I am not in control.  I have struggled with the lie that I can control my life since I was a tiny girl.  I remember on my first flight, when I was very young, not playing with my cousins, but listening to the pilots on the radio in my headphones, convinced if we were going to crash, I’d hear the pilots say something and somehow be prepared and be able to survive.  That is my nature.  My need for control is a lifelong struggle.  But on a plane I can’t help but realize that I am not in control.  I cannot change anything about myself or my situation, any more than from that plane can I pick up a semi-truck (even though it is ant-sized) and move it to another road.  All I can do is float, suspended up there by physics that I cannot pretend to understand, and acknowledge that I do believe in a God who is bigger still, who sees me, knows me intimately, has a plan, loves me, and desires a relationship with me.  And I am overwhelmed with gratitude that He would work on my behalf.  That although I am weak, He is strong.  Although I am tiny, He is mighty.  Although I am powerless, He holds all things in His hands. For a moment, I can step away from my life and the day-to-day worries and realize that I am a mere ant, a breath, a blink, and humbly ask God in His power, wisdom, grace, and love to use my small life for His glory.

I love being on a plane.  It shows me a glimpse of reality and shifts my perspective every time.