Flying Blind

There was a little debate about whether we should go flying or not. Dad assured me the front wasn't too bad, we only worried about the wind, with gusts up to 30 mph in the weather report, it could lead to a bumpy take-off. The sun was out, so we rolled the plane down the driveway, along the small taxi-way and across the sheet. (A slightly amusing adventure as we cross the road, looking for cars and relying on the flashing 'Airplane Crossing' sign.) With controls cocked right we sped down the runway to fight off wind, and off we went over the Western NJ farmland.
Our flightplan had us on a Western heading, into Pennsylvania. I tracked our progress out the window 3000 feet up; across the Delaware, over farms, suburbs, reservoirs and woods. It is odd the amount of resolution you have at this height, as you clearly interpret the pieces of the humanity. You see people on the road, shoppers, playgrounds, etc.
Ten minutes into PA we hit a line of flurries. I enjoyed seeing the flecks of chaotic white dance below me. But the weather turned as we headed into the front, with clouds descending upon us. Eventually, with added flurries we headed into a wall of white. A little unnerved, I differed to my father's experience. The rest of our trip was eventful, pleasant and a special time between father and son. I will not go into details of our Landcaster Airport landing, spaghetti and meatball lunch and the like. But I did learn a little about life in the analogy.
I'll wax a little religious and philosophic here - so be warned. I've noticed in life that we fly along, destination plotted, following the internal instruments of self-awareness, conscience and even the Holy Spirit. It keeps us on track, but life throws us flurries descending on us and gradually blocking our vision. As my father described to me in a flight-postmortem, we can descend below the storm and gain visibility, or we can climb up above 5000 feet and break free into the sun. And if it gets really bad, we can always call the local Control Tower, request an instrument flight approach and be guided into our destination.
And in life, we may be doing all the fight things, but still get 'in trouble.' At times we must descend a little and reevaluate the little things in life that keep us on course. For me it is prayer, meditation, scripture reading, service, etc. Other times we must climb above our issues and gain an Eternal perspective. Nothing like sunshine in your face calms your fears. And occassionally we call out for more help, get our instrument flightplan from God and continue on His direction.
I have done all three at different times of my life, and must tell you - it always works. So I build experience, and hope to arrive at my destination - where it's sunny and pleasant. Who brought the spaghetti and meatballs!
HRP