AIRPORT.

I did not get on a plane until I was 19 years old. Those who know me will not be surprised that during the flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco I was like a kind in a candy store. I got to look out the window and see the magnificent rays of the sun like I had never seen them before. As we soared through the black, dreary clouds that covered the Philadelphia Aiport and burst through them to see the sun, it was like being "born again." It was like seeing life with new eyes. As I looked down to the ground below and say the smallness of the streets and the lights of the population centers, I was so excited. I love flying. I love to "experience" new places. The flying experience is especially potent when I get to fly somewhere I have never been before. But even when I fly somewhere I have been, I still get exited. Why is that?

As I sit here in Denver International Airport, I am reminded of the experience every time I get to fly. I love to people watch, and there is not a better place to see lots of interesting people than at the airport. People in an airport have a certain rhythm to their lives. They all have some purpose, some place to go. The question I get to try to answer is, "Where are they going?" Because each person has a story. 

The airport also gives me a purpose. I have a destination, some place I am trying to get to and I am the kind of person who likes to know where he is going. I hate being in limbo and wondering what will come next. BUT! That is the tension. I also enjoy the mystery of the journey. While airline travel does not have a ton of mystery, the unexpected is still possible. For example, my flight was delayed today. I didn't expect that to happen. The weather was beautiful this morning in Denver, but the flight was delayed. The unexpected makes life interesting. I also don't know who I will sit next to on this flight or what the conversation will bring. That is the mystery. 

There is also something about being 35,000 feet over the earth and soaring through the clouds that feels adventurous. It feels exciting. When I look down on the middle of United States each time I take a trip from Denver to New York, I get to see the world's from God's perspective. He cares about each person on this earth and he sees each one of us simultaneously. He knows us very deeply. And, perhaps, that is why the airport is such a good example of the Christian life. As followers of Jesus we all have a destination, eternal life. But we will all meet new and exciting people along the way. We never know who we will meet, some will stay in our lives for a while, others may last a short time, and still others may be out of our sight as quickly as we said hello. The task, the purpose and the excitement of that journey is to live! To live with the purpose of showing the love that my God showed me when he shed his blood on calvary. To live with the intention of caring for people the way our Father cares for us. There is a great opportunity to do that in the airport. 

I love adventure. I love journeys. I love new and exciting things... after all, I hate it when I am missing something. Life is too short. And I think that that is why I love flying. I want to see as much as I possibly can, to live as fully as I possibly can, and impact as many people as I possibly can before my Savior calls me home with him. The airport is a reminder of my mission. The airport is a reminder of why I live.