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Wing Our Flight to Worlds Unknown
During WWI the Americans were up against the most lethal wing of the German Air Force, the Red Baron’s Flying Circus. Five aerial victories made a pilot an ace. Amazingly many of the Red Baron’s pilots had upwards of twenty-five. Patricia O’Toole pulls back the curtain on what transpired in the hearts and minds of the Americans as they pondered their individual fate…
“Many American airmen would write of lolling in a chair, listening to the bees buzz while trying to ignore the questions buzzing in their heads. Whose belongings would be divided tonight? Whose trunk would be ransacked to remove keepsakes and mementos before it went home with evidence to blot the memory of a hero? Overhead not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day? For what? Perfect for a last glimpse of life at its best for someone; that was for sure.”
Patricia O’Toole, When Trumpets Call
Small. Vulnerable. Praying for relief. For a truly perfect day. And anxious in the moment. Wondering if this particular day would be the one where they would experience their last glimpse of life. Heralding the setting of the sun and the rise of the evening star. Oh to truly fly away from it all.
“Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!”
The cry for wings is as old as humanity. It's a longing to fly away from all that hampers and imprisons us here. A rescue from our miseries and discontentment. To escape the "snare of the fowler."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
Psalm 91.3
We recognize that hearts are vexed and pained by evil. Moments that mirror Job’s where tragedy turns one’s world upside down. Yes, there are indeed times where the pain of life causes us to hurt to the point where we feel we are about to die.
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Psalm 55.4
The fact remains that some days are just harder than others. Moments where we feel especially small and vulnerable. Oh that we could escape this drudgery and misery and simply fly away. Even if it's just a brief respite.
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;
I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”
Psalm 55.6-8
Rest can bring healing. Both here in the present and ultimately in the eternal rest that awaits the faithful. Far beyond the starry sky.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40.31
Be reminded that we truly do feast on the riches of His grace. Especially when our path seems rough and steep as life ebbs and flows. For it’s then that we find rest beneath His sheltering wing. And as we approach the end of our time here in our mortal shell, the poetic refrain from Tennyson rings still.
“Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have cross’d the bar.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Crossing the Bar”
Our Sovereign King can sustain us through turbulent times (Psalm 55.22). He surely redeems our soul from the battles that we wage. And He remains faithful to His promises that there is a home prepared for us. So when twilight comes at last, and we embark on our final journey, we’ll recall His words which provide an eternal solace.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5.8
I hope to see my Pilot face to face. And to sing, “I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown; I shall reign with Him on high.”
That would truly be a perfect day.
