View from 37,000 feet

Right now I’m 37,000 feet over Sudan, cruising at a speed of 594 mph.  It’s -56 outside; at least that’s what the screen in front of me says.  That’s pretty cold.  Isn’t Mt. Everest over 30K ft?  If so, it’s pretty cold up there too!  I’ve been in the air for going on 14 hours now and I’ve slept, read, watched movies and even studied enough.  All I have left to do is write.  So here we go.  For the past few hours or so all I’ve been able to see out of my window seat in row 42 of this 747 is desert.  Sand as far as you can see.  It’s pretty unbelievable to actually see how big the Sahara desert is.  It literally takes up 1/3 of the African continent.  Of course we’ve all seen it on maps, but I’ve been flying over it for hours now and there’s no end in sight.  It kind of makes me wonder why it even exists.  All other ecosystems have an obvious role in the environment, but the desert is dry, arid and lifeless.  I’m not sure what purpose it serves.  I’m sure it has one and I’m probably offending desert-lovers, but I can’t figure it out.  Maybe I’ll put that on my list of questions to ask God one day.

As I sit here in awe looking at this expansive desert below, I’m struck by just how big God really is.  Not to mention the fact that I’m one of a few Americans on this plane.  Stepping on board it was obvious that many cultures were colliding on this flight.  From the dress, smell, look and language of the various passengers it was clear how multi-cultural this flight was.  From where I’m sitting right now I can see Africans, Middle Easterners, Yankees, Southerners, Eastern Europeans, Germans, Dutch, French, British and many more.  This too reinforces the fact of just how small I am and just how big God is.  It’s a good reminder and one I’m sure I’ll have many times on this trip.  It’s easy to get culture-centric in our little bubble called America, or even worse, in Alabama!  But we need to be mindful of other peoples and the diversity that exists in the world.  God created each of these people in His image and sent His son to die for their sins.  Moreover, He wants a relationship with them, regardless of what language they speak or how they dress or smell.  This trip is going to serve as a glaring testimony to that, and I’m looking forward to having some of my cultural barriers broken down as I experience it first-hand.

I'm off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, my trip has started. . . . . . . .or has it?  After months of tedious preparation, two days of methodically packing up 6 bags and cartons full of personal effects, surgical supplies and gifts for people in Kenya, and a long morning lugging those bags to the airport, trudging through check-in and security checkpoints and then finally boarding the plane to begin my adventure, I’m now stuck for who knows how long on the tarmac at the Birmingham airport for “air traffic control delays.”  All this preparation and precise planning and this is as far as I’ve gotten?  I’m kidding of course; my cynicism is only in jest.  Obviously, I want Delta to take all the time they need to get the air traffic cleared and safe for my plane.  But, after a hectic few days and a busy morning getting ready for this point, now I have nothing to do but reflect.  I guess that’s a good thing.  In fact, I plan on doing a lot of reflecting over the course of my trip, and I’ll hopefully share a lot of my thoughts on this blog.

The other night, Mallory and I had a great date night.  My parents graciously offered to keep the kids and we were able to spend some quality time together. . . . . . . .alone.  We had a nice dinner at Bonefish Grill and then went home to snuggle up on the couch and watch the movie we’d rented, The Date Night, with Steve Carrell and Tina Fey.  It was a decent movie that had some funny parts.  Although it wasn’t life-changing, overall we enjoyed it.  The story starts with the characters played by Carrell and Fey as an ordinary, tired, bored married couple from New Jersey.  They had a date night planned to try to spend some time together in the midst of their hectic lives.  During dinner they would play a game called “What’s their story?”.  In it they would interject their own opinions as to what other couples’ lives were like.  As you can imagine, their impersonations and stories were quite comedic.  The real irony of the scene was that during their own date night all they could find to do together was play this game, as their own relationship and communication had come to a point where they were living separate lives, together.  Unfortunately, their relationship didn’t have much of its own story.

As I was sitting at gate C6 today, I started playing my own version of this game “Where are they going?”.  Some I dreamed were going on lavish vacations in the Caribbean or Europe whereas some were hustling and bustling about in preparation for presentations and business meetings.  But then I saw one young man whose story was obvious although his destination unknown.  A young US soldier, fully dressed in military fatigues.  He couldn’t have been any more than 22 or 23.  Apparently they have a special rule for soldiers upon deployment allowing family members to accompany them to the gates because his wife, mom and brother were there with him, waiting for his departure.  I watched them as he sat there stoic, but reluctantly waiting to board the plane, unsure of what his fate would hold.  His mom and wife were in tears, make-up smeared from hours of weeping as they mourned his leaving, knowing deep down that there’s a chance that they would never see their man again.  The younger brother didn’t say much, probably there just because he had to be, but nevertheless distraught internally at the gravity of the situation.  When the soldier got up and boarded the plane, the three family members looked out of the window hoping to catch just one last glimpse of the man so special to them.  Will they ever see him again?, When will he come home?, Will he be wounded or traumatized?  All of these thoughts were racing through their minds, I’m sure. 

As I sat there and watched this unfold, I too was saddened by the pain that the whole family must be going through.  It definitely put my little trip and my feelings into perspective.  But, it also caused me to reflect on my family and the wonderful blessing that they are to me.  While I’m not deploying to Afghanistan or Iraq to defend our country, I am leaving behind an amazing wife and 3 beautiful kids and we will all miss each other greatly.  They are incredible and I’m so thankful to have them in my life.  I don’t know what I’d do without them.  Sure, our life is a little crazy now and even chaotic at times, but it’s our life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.