leavin' on a jet plane

Thank you, John Denver, for that 1966 song stuck in my head.  (I’m so old.)  Except it’s such a sad song, and jet planes are really exciting. 

I waited at the airport this week for a friend flying in from Scotland, and I wished I had a plane ticket.  It’s so exciting to pack up bags and go off on an adventure to explore some new place.   

I said to someone else who was waiting for them, “I can’t wait to see how my friends are changed after being overseas.”  She thought surely they wouldn’t be any different just because they went on a trip. 

That would be sad.  What a waste to face fears, endure the stress of obtaining a visa, cross the ocean, see new terrain, experience new culture, meet new people -and not be any different because of it. 

I always want to be changing.  Going someplace new.  Seeing new sites.  Absorbing new people into my life.  Tasting things I’ve never tasted before.   

I don’t mean world traveling, as fantastic as that would be.  I mean every day.  Every day seeing things in a new light, loving new people in a fresh way, being obedient in the scary things that take me to a new place I’ve never been before. 

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:14  NIV) 

Heavenward.  Now that’s going somewhere.  Toward something.  Pressing forward to a new place.  Following God’s call means always having a bag packed and never really staying comfortably in one place for too long. 

Does your walk with Christ feel airport-ish?