Hubby and I were sitting out in the yard enjoying one of the very last nice days of summer. Hubby was busy doing something math-y on the computer, while I was preoccupied on my phone watching all the flight traffic going on overhead.
The planes passing overhead were at a southwest diagonal like always. But according to the flight-tracker website, once they reached Lake Washington, they turned due south and kept going south clear down to almost Tacoma where they then looped around and got in the queue to land headed north. Who knew!
The planes passing over my backyard were just the ones arriving from the east coast or Europe. Down where the queue was forming, planes were arriving from areas southward … LA, Reno, Phoenix, Sacramento, etc. …
Not only that, planes were arriving from the north/northwest – from Anchorage and Fairbanks and Japan. These followed a due-south route directly over top of the Puget Sound, until they could join the queue down near Tacoma with everyone else. Highly entertaining!
The big planes were at a higher elevation level. In between, at a lower elevation level, little planes were puttering past overhead.
Oh check it out! That little plane going overhead right now came from Friday Harbor! That’s cool!
(For reference … here’s Friday Harbor)
If it came from Friday Harbor then I bet it’s a seaplane … so it’s probably going to land in downtown on Lake Union.
(For reference … here’s Lake Union)
I followed along on my phone as the little plane continued its journey. No … it’s not headed anywhere near downtown. I guess it’s not going to land on Lake Union after all.
The little plane stayed well over to the east, out of the busy mess of air traffic queuing up to land at SeaTac. Further and further south it continued. I pondered: “If it came from Friday Harbor (way up north) then it’s got to be landing somewhere around here.”
I wonder what its flight path was?
I proceeded to backtrack the flight path of the little plane, which by now had passed over my backyard about 10 minutes ago.
Oooooo! Look at that! It came down right along the western foothills of the Cascades! I bet that was a pretty journey!
Oooooo! It made a couple of loops around Mt. Baker! That is the coolest thing ever!! By the way, I wonder how expensive a sight-seeing flight like that would be??
(For reference, here is Mt. Baker from the northeast side.)
Just imagine how unbelievably cool it would be to circle around that summit several times in a little tiny plane!
I kept backtracking the path of the little plane until I had followed it all the way back to its origination point at Friday Harbor, in the San Juan Islands.
“I wonder where it’s taking its passengers?” I quickly returned to see where the little plane was currently. By now the little plane was way down near Joint Base Lewis-McChord and was coming in to land at a small municipal airport.
I couldn’t help but think: Just like I was able to backtrack the flight path of the little plane, having only seen it briefly as it flew over my backyard … in much the same way people can “backtrack” the “flight path” of our life.
The little plane did not know I had watched it as it briefly flew over my backyard.
The little plane did not know I was continuing to watch its flight path, even long after it had passed overhead.
Nor did the little plane know that I had “gone back in history” to see where its path had taken it.
In the same way, we never know who might be observing our life from a distance, as we go about our normal day-to-day activities.
For example: Our daughter’s friend and coworker from two jobs ago took this photo of hubby and me as we were strolling through a local arts & crafts festival recently. We had no idea she was working at the booth across the way. In fact, we had no idea who she was. But she knew who we were and she sent this photo to our daughter just for kicks, letting her know that she had just had a parent sighting! Haha! (She ran over and said ‘Hi!’ and we had a lovely chat!)
We never know who might be continuing to watch our life’s journey, long after we’ve briefly crossed paths with them.
And we never know who might be “taking a look back” at the history of our “flight path.”
For example, it is not uncommon for one of hubby’s coworkers to have an open job position which they are hiring for, and for them to ask hubby about a potential job candidate whose resume they received.
Sure enough, hubby will indeed know the person who submitted the resume for the job opening. Oftentimes it is someone whom hubby worked with years ago!
Hubby’s coworker will ask hubby: “What do you think? Would they be a good person to hire for this position?”
If the person from hubby’s past was a hard worker, collaborative, etc. etc. … hubby will give a glowing review and highly recommend them!
However, there have been times when the person from hubby’s past was an impossible person … someone who was lazy or stirred up dissention on the team. In these situations, hubby is honest and warns his current coworker that that particular person would not be a good fit for the job opening.
The person who submitted the resume for the job opening has no idea that the “flight path” of their life has just been “backtracked” … and that their behavior in the past just resulted in them not being hired for the current job today.
By the same token … the person who was a hard worker, collaborative, etc. … they likewise have no idea that the “flight path” of their life has also just been “backtracked” … and that their everyday actions in the workplace 15 years ago just resulted in them getting hired for the job today!
I like this particular verse (1 Peter 2:12) in the Amplified version: “Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when he looks upon them with mercy].”
– 1 Peter 2:12 (Amplified Bible)
Live every day with integrity, kindness, and honesty … working hard and doing what is right. Because we never know who might be “backtracking” the “flight path” of our life.
