Piloting Faith: We salute courage...

A Word for the Day...
Yesterday I was flying from Atlanta to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. We were just passing Richmond, Virginia when we received word that a plane had crashed, and they were closing the airport. We were diverted back to Atlanta where we learned that 13 people lost their lives in that crash.
I am certain when those men and women got up that morning, they did not think it would be their last. They were excited about the day ahead. They were going to have the rare honor of flying in a WWII B-17 bomber, the plane that turned the tide of the war. Few of us ever get such an experience.
When planes crash, the entire aviation community pauses in salute. We feel the deepest compassion for the families forever changed. We hate that mechanical issues can end lives. But we also salute the bravery and courage to be in that cockpit in the first place. We salute their embracing the call to adventure.
Yesterday was a reminder once again that life is fragile and not guaranteed. That is all the more reason to live yours with abandon. George Bernard Shaw once said,
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It ia a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.”
Life is a gift from God, full of risks and rewards. Today let's salute the women and men who said "yes" to the chance to live theirs like a splendid torch burning brightly for the rest of us to see.
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight
Blessing for the Week
Blessed are you who turn with passion, with strength, and with hope, for you will be filled with the God who is coming to life in you.
- Jan Richardson, Sacred Journeys