If I Only Could Fly
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)
There is a true story of 33-year-old truck driver Larry Walters who on one hot day in July of 1982 was sitting in his lawn chair in his backyard in southern California wishing he could fly. For as long as he could remember he had wanted to fly but never had the time nor money nor opportunity to be a pilot. So he spent a lot of summer afternoons sitting in his backyard in his ordinary old aluminum lawn chair dreaming about flying. He finally came up with what he thought was a pretty good idea. He hooked 45 helium-filled surplus weather balloons to a lawn chair he had purchased from Sears, put a CB radio in his lap, tied a paper bag full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to his leg, and slung a BB gun over his shoulder to pop the balloons when he wanted to come down. He said he expected his lawn chair to gently lift off and ascend to about 30 feet over his girlfriend’s home in San Pedro, California. But the rope anchoring him to the ground unexpectedly broke. His assent jerked him up so quickly that his eyeglasses fell to the ground. He ended up floating around the L.A. area for several hours (14 hours actually) ultimately rising to an altitude of 16,000 feet, which is as far as I know, a world record for floating lawn chairs! Unable to control the direction of his flight, the winds pushed him into a primary landing path at LAX airport. Walters was spotted by pilots from both TWA and Delta Airlines who had to radio in that they saw a man sitting in a lawn chair, holding a gun on his lap, hovering over the airport, apparently enjoying a peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Radar confirmed that an unidentified object was in fact floating over the airport. Suspecting a potential terrorist threat because of the report of the gun, emergency procedures were put into place at the airport. A helicopter was dispatched to track Larry who was continuing to rise higher and higher. It gets pretty cold at 16,000 feet (3 miles above the earth) so Larry started shooting some of the balloons with his BB gun. While he was successful at initiating his descent, he unfortunately dropped the gun and lost all control over his adventure at that point. Left completely to the mercy of the winds, he realized he was now being pushed out towards the ocean. Luckily however Larry finally crashed landed his makeshift aircraft in a residential neighborhood in Long Beach, where his balloons got tangled in some power lines and caused a power blackout. Larry was miraculously unharmed, hanging only 5 feet above the ground. After jumping down he was arrested immediately by waiting LAPD officers who charged him with violating LAX airspace. Because of his unusual flight, Larry became something of a folk hero and had opportunities to appear on late night talk shows telling everyone about his aeronautic escapade. But unfortunately for Larry, the FAA wasn’t very impressed with his piloting skills. He was charged with 4 violations of FAA regulations and fined four thousand dollars. As he was being led away in hand-cuffs after landing, a reporter asked Larry why he had tried such a “lame-brained idea.” Larry stopped, looked back and said: “A guy has to do something. He can’t just sit around in his backyard all day.”
Now I don’t know about you, but if I had an afternoon to kill in my backyard, I can probably think of about a thousand other things to do rather than attempting to fly around in a Sears lawn chair. One rather sad footnote on the above story; however high Walter’s little adventure took him, it apparently wasn’t high enough. Eleven years after his flight Larry Walters hiked out to one of his favorite spots in a forest and took his own life.
Every one of us will face moments when we feel confused and down. The passage above tells us if there is ever a time in your life when you need to be lifted up – all you really need to do is look towards the Lord. No matter what you may be facing the Lord will by His power and wisdom meet your need.
Realize Who God Is: The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God is God and He is all-powerful. There is no limit to His ability to meet your need. There is no limit to His deliverance and provision for whatever you face. God never gets tired, never grows weary, and is always listening for the prayers of His children to rush to their aid. Find new strength by turning towards Him.
Recognize What God Is Doing For You Right Now: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. You may feel as if you do not have the strength to go on – the power to face even one more day. If so, you are in the prefect place to experience a miracle. The reality is we often come to an end of ourselves – it is then that God can do His greatest work in our lives. He will give you power to overcome.
Rejoice Because Of Where God Can Take You: Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” The Lord will take you above every difficulty, which comes your way. Seek His face and trust in His strength – He will renew you. He will take you from that place of weakness and cause you to rise up to a place of power.
Enjoy the Flight,
PT
There is a true story of 33-year-old truck driver Larry Walters who on one hot day in July of 1982 was sitting in his lawn chair in his backyard in southern California wishing he could fly. For as long as he could remember he had wanted to fly but never had the time nor money nor opportunity to be a pilot. So he spent a lot of summer afternoons sitting in his backyard in his ordinary old aluminum lawn chair dreaming about flying. He finally came up with what he thought was a pretty good idea. He hooked 45 helium-filled surplus weather balloons to a lawn chair he had purchased from Sears, put a CB radio in his lap, tied a paper bag full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to his leg, and slung a BB gun over his shoulder to pop the balloons when he wanted to come down. He said he expected his lawn chair to gently lift off and ascend to about 30 feet over his girlfriend’s home in San Pedro, California. But the rope anchoring him to the ground unexpectedly broke. His assent jerked him up so quickly that his eyeglasses fell to the ground. He ended up floating around the L.A. area for several hours (14 hours actually) ultimately rising to an altitude of 16,000 feet, which is as far as I know, a world record for floating lawn chairs! Unable to control the direction of his flight, the winds pushed him into a primary landing path at LAX airport. Walters was spotted by pilots from both TWA and Delta Airlines who had to radio in that they saw a man sitting in a lawn chair, holding a gun on his lap, hovering over the airport, apparently enjoying a peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Radar confirmed that an unidentified object was in fact floating over the airport. Suspecting a potential terrorist threat because of the report of the gun, emergency procedures were put into place at the airport. A helicopter was dispatched to track Larry who was continuing to rise higher and higher. It gets pretty cold at 16,000 feet (3 miles above the earth) so Larry started shooting some of the balloons with his BB gun. While he was successful at initiating his descent, he unfortunately dropped the gun and lost all control over his adventure at that point. Left completely to the mercy of the winds, he realized he was now being pushed out towards the ocean. Luckily however Larry finally crashed landed his makeshift aircraft in a residential neighborhood in Long Beach, where his balloons got tangled in some power lines and caused a power blackout. Larry was miraculously unharmed, hanging only 5 feet above the ground. After jumping down he was arrested immediately by waiting LAPD officers who charged him with violating LAX airspace. Because of his unusual flight, Larry became something of a folk hero and had opportunities to appear on late night talk shows telling everyone about his aeronautic escapade. But unfortunately for Larry, the FAA wasn’t very impressed with his piloting skills. He was charged with 4 violations of FAA regulations and fined four thousand dollars. As he was being led away in hand-cuffs after landing, a reporter asked Larry why he had tried such a “lame-brained idea.” Larry stopped, looked back and said: “A guy has to do something. He can’t just sit around in his backyard all day.”
Now I don’t know about you, but if I had an afternoon to kill in my backyard, I can probably think of about a thousand other things to do rather than attempting to fly around in a Sears lawn chair. One rather sad footnote on the above story; however high Walter’s little adventure took him, it apparently wasn’t high enough. Eleven years after his flight Larry Walters hiked out to one of his favorite spots in a forest and took his own life.
Every one of us will face moments when we feel confused and down. The passage above tells us if there is ever a time in your life when you need to be lifted up – all you really need to do is look towards the Lord. No matter what you may be facing the Lord will by His power and wisdom meet your need.
Realize Who God Is: The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God is God and He is all-powerful. There is no limit to His ability to meet your need. There is no limit to His deliverance and provision for whatever you face. God never gets tired, never grows weary, and is always listening for the prayers of His children to rush to their aid. Find new strength by turning towards Him.
Recognize What God Is Doing For You Right Now: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. You may feel as if you do not have the strength to go on – the power to face even one more day. If so, you are in the prefect place to experience a miracle. The reality is we often come to an end of ourselves – it is then that God can do His greatest work in our lives. He will give you power to overcome.
Rejoice Because Of Where God Can Take You: Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” The Lord will take you above every difficulty, which comes your way. Seek His face and trust in His strength – He will renew you. He will take you from that place of weakness and cause you to rise up to a place of power.
Enjoy the Flight,
PT
posted by Larry | 1:30 PM
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