Flying High
June 19, 2020— Laura House
The only time I remember Nathan flying as a child was at the local airport when a former air force pilot took our kids up in his small plane as part of a field trip. But by the time he was a teenager, Nathan was determined to learn to fly. Reading the story of Nate Saint had touched him deeply. What could be better than combining the exhilaration of flying with providing for people’s physical needs and sharing the gospel? So at the age of fifteen, we visited JAARS, a missionary aviation ministry in North Carolina.
As we toured the JAARS and Wycliffe facilities, Nathan was fascinated by the technology that was used to translate the Bible into languages of remote people groups in far away lands. He loved computers and everything related to them. But when we reached the airstrip and he was invited to enter the plane, a new level of excitement emerged. We watched a bit nervously as the little piper plane took off and finally returned with a grinning teenager who was clearly smitten with flight. This. Was. It.
Arriving back home again in Indiana, Nathan met with the director at our airport, inquiring about the possibility of a job in exchange for flight lessons. (Incidentally, flight lessons are expensive!) I wish I remembered how many hours he worked to tally enough for a lesson, but it was a lot. Spending most of his time out in the hangers alone, he scrubbed the small piper planes and dreamed of his next adventure. He didn’t have a driver’s license yet, so we drove him to the airport for his lessons and usually waited there, watching the little plane take off and head into the sky, always comforted by the fact that his instructor was with him. But I’ll never forget one particular flight.
This time, I had dropped him off and left to run an errand. When I returned to pick him up, he bolted to the car, grinning from ear to ear. Plopping into the passenger seat with a satisfied sigh, he exclaimed, “Guess what, Mom! I soloed!”
What?! I was shocked and quite grateful that I didn’t have that information ahead of time!
Whenever I fly now, I think of Nathan and his descriptions of piloting a plane. It must have been amazing to be the one in control of maneuvering the little machine into the air and seeing the land, cars, and buildings fade into specks below; to soar over the Indiana fields so peaceful and serene. Although his solo flights were hard on my nerves, I treasure the memories of his excitement and I love to look through his flight log.
Wherever I fly now, I also think of Heaven. The commercial planes I frequent travel at 35K feet, where all that can be viewed is a sea of fluffy clouds below and streams of bright sunlight from above. The Bible isn’t explicitly clear about exactly what Heaven is like, but flying makes me contemplate it and I look forward to being there someday.
Just a few months before Nathan went to Heaven, he traveled to Europe. Looking through the many pictures on his phone, we found photos from his overseas flight of stunning cloud formations, pictures of the land below, and short videos taken through the window. It makes me chuckle to see the videos of the Rolls Royce engine that clearly impressed my sweet electrical engineer/pilot.
In just a few days I’ll fly again, the first time since the pandemic began. Although things will look a bit different this time, my experience will be the same as always. Thoughts of Nathan, grateful memories, amazement that a metal structure filled with people can fly so high, and a quietness in my soul as I reflect on the One who created me and loves me most.
I Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
