Amazing

It boggles my mind that in just eight hours we can drive from the coast to a different state, different climate, different metropolis, different everything.  Covering more than 400 miles was not so long ago a very major undertaking, one that involved no small amount of danger and, at least in the desert southwest, the very real possibility of death.  Now, it’s a piece of cake.  Or, in our case, a breakfast at Denny’s midway between the coast and Phoenix, marveling  at the warmth even at 6:30am and shivering from the air conditioning in the restaurant.

And then, to board a plane and fly from Phoenix to the east coast in just four hours – incredible.  I complain about flying these days.  I complain about the inanity of our ‘security’ measures that seem so extreme for being so incredibly ineffective.  I complain about this as a blatant disregard of personal privacy masquerading as a public service.  I complain about the cramped room and the stripping away of customer service until it almost seems that the airlines would prefer you weren’t even there.  Yet it remains a miracle.  I’ll always be childlike enough, apparently, to be excited at the prospect of soaring over the clouds in a massive metal tube.

And then to board yet another plane and fly not just over the clouds but over an entire ocean and continent and to arrive more or less no worse for wear in Europe, equally magical.  Yes, it’s painful and exhausting, but it remains almost beyond the realm of comprehension.  What not-so-long ago took months and again involved very real risk of death and now my biggest complaint is the guy next to me who takes my armrest, so I have to sit through the flight (in a middle seat) cross-armed.  Gee.  What a wimp I am.

I hope that as our culture becomes less tolerant of any little inconvenience (no wi-fi?!  Dear God no!) we will retain at some level the recognition that we enjoy blessings of technology that are mind-numbing.  Instant communication worldwide basically for free, the ability to cover thousands of miles in a few hours, to cross oceans and continents with ease, to enter a metal tube in one country and exit it in another country across the ocean.  How blessed we are.  How blessed I am.  How much I look forward to the coming weeks.  For these few days with old friends and laughter and amazement at what is possible in life.

Thank you Lord for all you give.