#2 – Delight
June 28, 2019Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
~Psalm 37:4
Eternity with Him
Baseball fans experience happiness when their team wins, but they delight when their team wins the championship. My Angels won it all in 2002. The California Angels lost to the Brewers in 1982 despite leading two games to none. In 1986, they lost in the playoffs after blowing a three-run lead over the Red Sox in the ninth inning at home in Anaheim. The opposite of delight = first baseman Bill Buckner’s game six fielding error of a dribbling grounder against the eventual ’86 champion New York Mets. To begin the World Series-winning 2002 season a man named Brad Burlingame threw out the first pitch in Anaheim.
Brad’s brother, American Airlines Captain Charles “Chic” Burlingame commanded one of four jets hijacked by Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001. A retired Navy veteran, Chic grew up in suburban L.A., riding bikes with his brother Brad around Angels Stadium. Brad arose September 11, 2001 to the shock of burning buildings on TV. What would happen next? A family friend phoned Brad, “Chic has been killed.”
On the ten-year anniversary, Orange County Register reporter Eric Carpenter told Brad Burlingame’s story of healing. Flight 77 had crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 on the aircraft and another 125 on the ground. Full of jet fuel, the aircraft and building burned, leaving little remains. Recovery workers found a singed prayer card from his mother’s funeral Chic had carried. “I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there, I did not die.”
Mr. Carpenter wrote: Says Brad: “It was my mom talking to us, saying, “’He’s OK; he’s with me now.’” Although Brad Burlingame died of cancer in 2015 his family’s story serves as an inspiration of finding delight in the midst of tragedy. Hope of eternity in Christ.
Angels fans remember the delight of winning the final game of major league baseball’s 2002 season. I celebrated with Angels fans as Darin Erstad caught the final out of their 2002 World Series game 7 win against the Giants. After many disappointing seasons, we finally won the last game of the season – baseball’s holy grail.
On September 10, 2001, I served as the overnight Senior Duty Officer at Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, waking up to see on TV the same horrific sights Brad Burlingame and many others will never forget. God uses things for His good, including Chic Burlingame’s prayer card that survived the fiery Pentagon crash.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.
Yes, I delight in baseball. But I also delight in the LORD and look forward to the desire of my heart: Eternity with Him. I hope Jesus can introduce me to the Burlingame brothers in heaven.
Where were you on September 11, 2001?
What do you delight in?
#1 – Life Verse
June 22, 2019He has told you, O man what is good, and what does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 [NASB]
I believe God created the skies we fly in. More important, He works in seasons of peoples’ lives throughout our thriving profession. My flight career almost never happened. A rebellious teen during Reagan’s Cold War build-up years, I wasn’t enlisting unless I could fly. Fortunately, I made the minimum required score on the Army’s flight aptitude test; however, this wasn’t the only obstacle. I needed to come to the end of myself.
During flight school, the commander called me into his office, asking about my poor driving record. The government conducts security clearance reviews for officers entering military service. Serious business. Two instances of speeding on suburban Los Angeles freeways; the speed limit then was 55. One was for 71 after an Angels game and the other for driving 69 on a Sunday evening after church. Running my neighborhood stop sign; nobody there, except for the La Palma officer doing his job. These were the only times I got caught. There were several other near-misses.
I was guilty. There was nothing to do. My career trajectory sat in the balance of a few poor decisions. Was it too late? Would I be moved to infantry? Could a screw-up like me ever be trusted?
“Sir, no excuses. I take responsibility. Please give me an opportunity to learn and grow from these mistakes.”
Fortunately, I had proven myself in training enough to earn the trust of my peers and commanders. He cautioned me to learn from my miscues and signed a waiver request which providentially was approved. Along my journey toward the end of myself, Act justly rang true.
Do right, love people, fight arrogance.
In the early 90s, a mentor named Tim gave me Honest to God, a book by Bill Hybels that shaped my identity as a Christian. Tim removed the cover, saying, “Here you go.” I haven’t seen or heard from Tim since, but I’m grateful. Over the years, Hybels’ Honest to God proved a useful resource, along with Holy Discontent and Simplify. Hybels’ Simplify (2014) includes a section on finding and choosing life verses. I adopted Micah 6:8 several years ago.
God created the skies we fly in
Other than opening up my heart to him, God requires little, if anything. He leads my way and showers my life with justice and mercy when I’m real with Him. But it’s not even about what we do, it’s who we are: Created for eternity to glorify God.
Aviation was my second choice, but college wasn’t an option given my family situation, finances, and to be candid, my life direction. In January 1983 during my TH-55A nickel ride, I first encountered the joy of flying. Fun, fulfillment, precision, creativity – in every sense.
Thank you, LORD, for allowing me to begin a second choice career in aviation despite traffic tickets, minimum test scores, and life direction.
What’s your life verse?
How did aviation find you?
Flight and Faith blog: drmitchellmorrison.com