Thursday 22 May 2014

Come fly at a higher altitude mom!

I can't say that I particularly like flying on big airplanes, but I must admit that I have learned some rather important lessons up there, high above the clouds. Two of my most popular posts deal with airplane safety and attitude and how they relate to my life as a mom. If you haven't read them yet and you would like to, you can find the links here:

Today, however, I would like to zoom in on the importance of our altitude. Altitude, as you might or might not know, refers to our height above the ground.

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com
I have failed so many times as a mother, I cannot even begin to tell you and you probably wouldn't want me to, but what's important is that my biggest fails usually happen when I did not have enough "quiet time". In case you have never had a quiet time and don't quite know what I am referring to, a quiet time is a "time out" for adults. Just like you would give your child when his or her behavior starts to deteriorate. Admittedly, my own behavior still  deteriorates quite often as I am not a very seasoned mother yet. I still tend to "lose the plot" in those really stressful moments. Of course, in those stressful moments, I don't have time for a "quiet time"! But as soon as I can, later in the day, I run to my reading chair and stay...for one minute, 10 minutes, whatever I can spare. I sit in my chair and ponder over my latest outburst of anger, pray for forgiveness and wait until peace settles in again. There, alone in my chair, chatting to God or just sitting still, I manage to put everything back into perspective and regain hope, that for the rest of the day, I won't slip again.

I thought about such quiet times on a recent flight in a Boeing 737, on which I was lucky enough to occupy a window seat. High above the ground at 36'000 feet I was looking outside and noticed, that we seemed to move so incredibly slowly over the ground that was barely visible below. I couldn't spot any cars and with the details of "daily life" hidden from my immediate sight, the world looked so much more serene and my problems very much smaller than they usually do. It felt as if I was suspended in time. Most interestingly, far above the dotted clouds, it seemed as if I could see my destination even though we hadn't reached it yet.

I sat, gazing out the window, and wondered what this would look like, if the rather powerful airplane would fly incredibly low, perhaps at 5000 feet above ground. Everything would fly by so fast! Can you imagine? Flying in a Boeing 737 just above the ground?? We would hardly be able to take in the details of the landscape rushing past, not far below. Our destination would seem very far away from that angle and we would surely not be able to see it yet. At low altitude, it would be a scary flight!!

But only too often that's how we fly as mothers! No time to climb up the mountain and rest...we fly low and our days are rushing past so incredibly fast! We can hardly catch our breath as we take care of the many details of our lives and most of the time, we can't really see our destination or purpose. So what is our destination or purpose as a mother? To produce a highly efficient and intelligent child? To be remembered for the clean house and the many things we managed to tick off on our seemingly endless "to do" lists? The amount of social gatherings we attended? Or should we be remembered for the time we spent with our children? Loving them. Listening to them. Admiring and encouraging them...

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com
On the way home, high up above the clouds, with zero visibility, I noticed that I have already flown too low too often! But a good “quiet time” takes me up high. It takes me to 36000 spiritual feet. It let’s me forget all my daily struggles and shows me my purpose and His providence. For God is faithful and He always provides. But I don’t always see it down below. Up there, at high altitude, my days slow down and I get to enjoy them so much more!


That's why I want to invite you to come on board! Let's have a quiet time and take off. The amazing thing with "quiet times" is that the more you have them, the less your behavior deteriorates. It's actually kind of a preventative measure. So join me at 36'000 feet today! Take a breather and have a good quiet time with God, even if it is just a 10 minute flight! Chances are, your problems will start to disappear and you will feel so much better afterwards!



 “Come to me, all you who are weary 
and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matt 11:28 (NIV)



Even those who are young grow weak; 
young people can fall exhausted.
But those who trust in the Lord for help
will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
they will run and not get weary,
they will walk and not grow weak."
 
                                                              Isaiah 40:30-31 (GNT)




I wish you a peaceful day today! 





(Unless otherwise stated, all photos in this post are my own.)