Lessons From 6,000 Feet (part 2)

My friend and flying partner, Mike Charewicz once said to me, “Altitude is your friend,”

• When lost, go high. I am a VFR pilot, (meaning visual flight rules). While I use all the instruments in the airplane, I aviate and navigate by looking out the window. But sometimes, every little town, every lake, and every road begins to look the same. It’s not hard to get lost. A rule of thumb for VFR pilots is, if you lose your bearing, go high so that you can see more landscape, and find your way back to where you got off track.

And I know that to be true in life. We all get lost sometimes, in our emotions, our thinking, our direction. When I do, I have to go high. I have to look at life from God's perspective, getting a visual for the bigger picture, rather than down low where all I can see are the confusing things that got me lost in the first place.

• It’s more efficient up there. The higher you fly, the thinner the air, and the less drag you have on your airplane. So you fly faster and burn less fuel. It takes time to climb, and you burn more fuel getting up there. But you save because you are more efficient while cruising and especially descending. So the time it takes to climb is worth it.

Too busy to take that 20 minutes in the morning to get alone with God? Some mornings are tight and I have many things to do. But when I skip, I burn more fuel and move slower. The time it takes to climb high with God is always worth it.

• Higher is smoother. When flying at low altitudes you have to deal with thermal turbulence from uneven heating of the ground. But as you climb, those thermals dissipate, and while you still encounter wind, that wind is usually consistently blowing in one direction. There’s nothing like climbing to 9,000 feet, setting the auto pilot, and enjoying the smooth ride and beautiful scenery.

For me, life is just plane smoother when I stay at higher altitude in my walk with Jesus.

• The higher you fly, the further you glide. You might not want to even think about the possibility of mechanical failure while in the sky, and it is extremely rare. But to be a safe pilot, you have to be prepared for anything. That’s another reason that “altitude is your friend.” If by chance your motor begins to develop problems, the further up you are, the more time you have to identify a nearby airport, and the further you are able to glide to get there. That’s why when there are rare occurrences of mechanical failure while cruising, the vast majority of small airplanes land safely.

Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” I know trouble is inevitable. So I want to climb as high as I can and approach those problems with the help from God above.