One of my favorite things to do is to fly. That experience was heightened on my last trip when instead of sitting in the aisle like I usually I do, I decided to sit in the window seat so that Josiah could look out the window if he wanted to. He thoroughly enjoyed the view but I don’t think he liked it nearly as much as I did. Flying makes me feel free, but being able to peer out the window over passing city/landscapes, mountains, grasslands, and clouds makes me feel at peace. In that moment as I look outward to the world below me, I begin to realize just how minuscule a lot or even all of my problems are.

During takeoff I was able to see the vehicles zipping up and down the highway, zig zagging their way through traffic. The higher that the plane rose the smaller the vehicles became and the less of them I could actually see.

I am a plane.

On the ground level, I have problems; sometimes way more than I can count. When a problem arises I have three options:

1: Let the problem stop my flight.

2: Let the problem stall my flight.

3: Takeoff anyway.

I don’t think any of us has a life that is without struggle or pain. I think each unfortunate situation we face in a way is needed to help build us and to help develop our character. Now, that’s not to say that we don’t put ourselves in a lot of the messed up situations we face because a lot of times we do. A lot of times what we go through is directly linked to our own poor and misguided decisions. Nonetheless, we can choose to take flight instead of letting our circumstances hinder and define us.

In order to grow, we have to go through some things. Adversity will hit us like a wave crashing ashore before you’ve had time to adjust to the cold of the water. Things are simply bound to happen. But I am in a point in my life where the only thing I am interested in is growth, so I am all for tackling my problems head on.

I am a plane.

I fully realize and understand that even as I hover above the world below me that a lot of my problems still exist. They will only shrink for a fleeting moment; but, I am choosing to push forward or in the case of the blog and it’s plane references, “take off” anyway. Because I have an agenda and God has created an itinerary for my life. I have places to be, people to see and help; so I know that I don’t have time to be stuck in one place on one issue for an extended amount of time.

I have to rise above.

Once I rise above, I will clearly be able to see just how minuscule the problem(s) was in the first place. Just as when I was gazing out the window into the clouds and down at the world around me. When we take a moment to remove ourselves from a situation and really analyze what is going on we realize just how small and insignificant a lot of things are. We have to rise above.

I will rise above.

Will you?