Lessons From 6,000 Feet (part 3)

Two weeks ago it was attitude. Last week was altitude. This week it's atmosphere, and knowing the conditions along your route.After my first solo, I had to learn to flight plan. Planning a flight involves knowing your destination airport and possible alternates. It entails learning the existing and forecasted atmospheric conditions along your route and at your destination. That’s probably the most important part of a flight plan. The weather might be beautiful where and when you depart. But it can quickly become hazardous. If you do not know what is ahead, you may wind up in a very dangerous situation.Planning for the weather ahead of you allows you to make informed go/no-go decisions. And even if heavy clouds or strong winds are forecasted along the way, knowing about them can determine how high or what route you take to your destination to minimize the risk. And there are a lot of weather conditions that a wise private pilot will never enter.Airplanes ride in the wind. They depend on the atmosphere to stay aloft. Air temperature, density, moisture, and movement, combine to provide lift in keeping an airplane in flight. But they can also act as forces against flight. Some weather conditions make it difficult, or even impossible, for a pilot to see. And some weather conditions can create such severe turbulence it causes the pilot to lose control of the airplane. Strong winds can take you off course or slow the ground speed so much so that the airplane burns more fuel than planned, leading to fuel starvation. A number of fatal airplane crashes have occurred because of each of these situations. The atmosphere matters. And knowing what you are getting into ahead of time is a big deal.Your surroundings in life matter as well. To think that negative influences, peer pressure, immoral environments, a barrage of ungodly messaging from popular media, would not affect on your spiritual, moral, and relational life would be foolish. Being aware of what we're up against should help us make some go/no-go decisions about movies, shows, and hang-outs. Because in a lot of ways, like an airplane, we are at the mercy of our surroundings. I wonder how much pain and regret we could have avoided in our past, had we flight planned better.Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (ESV). That’s outside forces working either in your favor or against you, just like in an airplane. So plan ahead. Who are you going to hang out with? What kinds of things are you going to expose your mind to?Poor planning has led to many fatal airplane crashes. Poor planning has led to many more wrecked lives. Pay attention to what you are surrounding and exposing yourself to. It’s not just your life that’s at stake. It’s your soul!