Hubby got the news that he needed to travel for work to Philadelphia. It was a real blow to both of us! This current season of caregiving for aging parents has been really difficult! Even though it had been a couple of weeks since we had had a caregiving crisis, just the thought of hubby traveling far away and me being left to deal with any potential catastrophe by myself was overwhelming.
Hubby rose in the dark early morning hours and headed off to the airport.
As the time drew near for his flight to take off, I kept watching my new flight-tracking tool (which my daughter-in-law had just recently introduced me to).
Glued to my phone I sat in my kitchen watching plane after plane take off from SeaTac. No, that’s not hubby’s plane. No, that’s not it. No, that’s not the one.
There it is! That’s it!
Hubby’s plane took off to the north and immediately banked east, heading directly across Lake Washington. “Oh, maybe hubby’s plane will fly over our house and I can see it,” I hoped! Or … at least maybe it will fly close enough that I can hear it!
But no. Hubby’s pane turned southeast … and headed out across North Bend … and on across the Cascades …
He’s gone now. Just like that … in minutes he’s crossed the Cascades and is on the other side of the state. Tears filled my eyes.
Still, I couldn’t pull myself away from my phone. I sat in the kitchen and watched the little icon of hubby’s plane as it carried him further and further away … bit by bit across the entire state of Washington. Finally, when his plane reached the border of Washington and Idaho, I figured I couldn’t sit here watching my phone all day. I had better get busy with my day and get my tasks accomplished.
Thankfully we all survived hubby’s absence without any major caregiving crises. The day came for hubby’s return flight back home. With Philadelphia being 3 hours ahead of us, and hubby’s flight leaving early, I was still asleep when his return flight took off. By the time I got up, hubby had already been in the air a couple of hours.
I wondered if I could find his plane on “adsbexchange”?? Anywhere near Chicago would be utterly impossible! Way too many planes in the air to pick out hubby’s. But by now hubby’s plane should be well clear of Chicago.
I was able to pick up hubby’s plane just as it was crossing from South Dakota into North Dakota. There he is! Somehow just seeing the little icon of hubby’s plane bringing him back home filled me with so much hope!
The airspace over North Dakota isn’t as crowded as other places, so it very quickly became obvious that hubby’s plane from Philadelphia was traveling somewhat together in a “pack” with a few other planes.
Here you can see hubby’s plane in the bottom right corner. The light-purple plane directly in front of hubby’s is coming from DC. The plane way up top on the right is coming from JFK. And the leader out front, over on the left is coming from Newark.
As hubby’s little pack neared the western edge of North Dakota, they passed another pack of planes heading east, coming from Seattle. Whoa! That’s the coolest thing ever! I guess those must be the flights that left Seattle around 6:30am. Check them out all traveling in a little pack together as they head east. I had no idea planes travel in little packs like that!
And then again just into Montana, hubby’s pack passed another little pack coming from Portland. Whoa! Check that out!
Whenever I fly, it always feels like our plane is the only one up there in that great big sky! I gaze out the airplane window and as far as I can see there’s nothing but sky! We’re all alone way up here above the earth!
On rare occasions I might catch a couple seconds sighting of another plane whizzing past at a lower altitude, or maybe a higher altitude. It’s just a blink … then it’s gone! Like ships passing in the night. We’re all alone up here in this great big sky!
But while the entire cabin has their window shades down and everyone’s attention is glued to their movies, what nobody realizes is that we are not all alone way up here! We are actually traveling in a pack together with other planes! I had no idea!
I had no idea that whenever I fly, my plane is not all alone up there traveling across the sky.
Here you can see hubby’s little pack as they are just south of Kalispell, Montana. And as you can see, they are straightening out and getting in line. Hubby’s is still the purple plane on the bottom right. Just above hubby is JFK. The plane in the center is DC. And Newark is still out in the lead. Just out of sight, a little further ahead of Newark, is Boston.
I was fascinated to notice that everyone started dropping in elevation at the exact same spot as they crossed over the Columbia River. Here you can see on the far-left Newark has changed colors from purple to blue, as it has already dropped to a lower altitude. DC is directly over top of the Columbia River and is just starting to drop. Then JFK. Then hubby is still pale purple (higher cruising altitude) at the far right.
Whenever I have flown into SeaTac I have had no idea where exactly we are at when we start dropping in altitude. I have had no idea my plane is probably in a pack traveling together with other planes. I have had no idea that we all are spaced a precise distance apart as we travel together; or that we all are dropping at a precise rate together, as a group, as we all line up and get in queue for landing.
When it comes to life itself … it is easy to feel very alone sometimes!
As a follower of Jesus Christ it is easy to feel very alone sometimes. It feels as if we are the only Jesus-follower in our corner of the world.
But we are not alone! If we could see the “big picture” we could see that there are actually other planes traveling on this exact same path with us. (so to speak) While I’m sitting in my seat on the airplane I can’t see the other planes. I have no idea they are there. But they are! And though I can’t see them, they aren’t that far away.
And the other passengers on those other airplanes probably feel as if they are all alone too! Their plane is the only one up here in this great big sky. Sitting in their seats on their airplane they can’t see that they are actually in close proximity to other planes traveling this same path along with them.
God sees the big picture! Just like I was in my kitchen watching the full picture of the flight traffic as it traveled in real time across the country … so also, in the same way God sees the full picture of this life. God sees who is traveling in a pack with us (which we can’t see … but they are still there nonetheless) … on our same path across life, headed to the same end destination.
In 1 Kings 19:9-18 we read about Elijah who was exhausted and utterly empty! He had nothing left to give. He had been in a very difficult season of life for a very long time! He had given everything he had doing what was right and serving God faithfully. But he was at the end of himself, and he had nothing left to give. He felt utterly alone.
We all go through seasons of life when we feel this way.
God came to Elijah to comfort and encourage Elijah. God showed Elijah a glimpse of the “big picture” and let Elijah know that he was not alone. There were many others who were also giving their all to do what was right and serve God faithfully too! Elijah couldn’t see them. Elijah had no idea. But they were there, nonetheless. Like a pack of airplanes traveling together across the sky.
If you feel empty and exhausted … if you feel utterly discouraged … if you feel as if you are all alone … you’re not! You are not alone!
You are part of a “pack.” You can’t see them … but they are there nonetheless, traveling together along with you across life, headed for the same end goal!
You are not alone.
