Learning To Fly

When I was a young boy I dreamed of flying. I wanted to learn how to fly, blasting off from the earth, soaring high in the sky, and bursting through the clouds at the speed of sound. That seemed to me like the ultimate thrill. Being a pilot seemed like the total dream job.

Alas, back in those days you had to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot and there was no such thing as Lasik surgery. So I gave up that goal, but I never stopped dreaming. Every night, as I knelt down to say my prayers, I would ask God to “Make me a bird and fly me far, far away”. Okay, sorry, that’s a line from the Forrest Gump movie… but you get the idea. Pilots were always tall and strong and brave and trustworthy, and very, very cool.

So when I received a photo of my granddaughter last week, it really put my head in the clouds. There she was, sitting at the controls of a jumbo jet liner headed for the east coast. Lights and buttons and switches surrounding her on every side, a smile on her face beaming confidence and joy. She was living the dream!

But wait, I forgot to mention that she is only two years old… and yet she is already living the dream! So maybe she wasn’t actually flying the plane, but she wasn’t scared either because even at only two years old she knew the man in the cockpit would control the plane, keep everyone safe, and get everyone to where they want to go.

Seeing that photo of her got me thinking… Knowing there is someone in control who will get us to where we want to go, is so awesome. But we have to make a choice. Do we board that plane and trust that pilot. Or even more important… Do we kneel down and trust the Lord to get us to where we want to go, or do we try to do it on our own? I know what I choice I would make!

Faith is the act of magnifying God, enlarging our vision of Him. 

Step into the cockpit to see where He sits and observe how He works. 

                                                                                       ~ Max Lucado                                                           

A Cool New Tool

When I do my job inspecting light poles with my ultrasonic equipment, sometimes the poles are buried in thick hedges or behind bushes. It can be a real nightmare. So I thought about it and decided to buy myself a really cool battery operated hedge trimmer… and it totally solved the problem! Which reminds me of what my Dad used to tell me, the right tool makes all the difference.

When I told my wife about my cool new tool, she kind of laughed and said, “You’ve always had a problem with bushes.” I wasn’t sure what she meant, so she explained that I often “beat around the bush” when I talk to people. You know what…she is right! However, I don’t think my cool new tool will help me with that problem.

My mistake is that I need to stop worrying so much about what people think and be more direct. My wife is a good example for me to follow because she is very straight forward and upfront with people. And I think people appreciate that because she is considerate, but also true to herself and very consistent.

So one of my New Year’s resolutions is to try to be more assertive and direct with people. And by that I mean communicating openly and honestly, expressing my thoughts and feelings clearly without beating around the bush, essentially saying exactly what I mean without trying to sugarcoat it or avoid sensitive topics. I already know it won’t be easy for me, because I was born “a salesman”. But as I mentioned in my last Monday Message, I value my relationships with people a lot, so anything I can do to improve in that area will be worth it. And to help me achieve that goal, I placed a small sticker on the back of my phone that simply says “BMD”(be more direct) as a reminder. I consider it to be the right tool and a cool new tool as well!

I think naturally, if you’re an actor, there’s a high level of assertiveness

 that you need to have to survive in this business. 

There’s boldness in being assertive, and there’s strength and confidence. 

~ Bryan Cranston