Giving Thanks
It's interesting that so many things seem to come together
at just the right time. Here I was, at Church again today,
having a not particularly connected feeling day. I've got
a lot on my mind these days, with many things going on with the
family, and some concerns over the upcoming college tuition
situation, and getting back to a zero-debt status which I had
been at prior to starting the RV-14. I'm not much of a
saver at times, so college for the kids is something that I'm
totally unprepared for. We gave them the best we could as
they were growing up, but unfortunately for them, they're going
to have to be hard working from this point out if they want to
have a chance to do the same. I also have decided that
it's time to become a CFI, and I mean with very little delay if
at all possible. My youngest daughter will be able to solo
an airplane in May, when she turns 16. She will do that in
the RV-14, which she already flies very well and would be able
to solo in most likely, if there were no age restrictions.
But I became concerned that I would not be able to find a CFI
that had enough RV time to be covered under our insurance
without a lot of hassle or time wasted flying with them until
they had the time. I've been encouraged by our local CFI,
who says I really need to continue on and pass along what I have
learned over all these years of experience, and I had intended
to some day become a CFI anyway, but with my daughters impending
need for a CFI that will work with us, I decided now is the
time. My local CFI reminded me that there is something
special about being able to share in the experience of teaching
your daughter, and for the most part, I've taught her 50% of
what she needs already, so it would be a waste not to keep
going.
With that in mind, I set out to get past the hurdle of my
Commercial rating. One week of solid study, followed by
one week of flying, and I'm now ready for my checkride
tomorrow. The Commercial rating is both easy, and hard, at
the same time. The knowledge required is basically the same as
the private, with a few more items added on, and the flying is
basically just a few maneuvers but they must be flown with
precision. Being what I think is generally a fairly "good
stick" I didn't think it would be any real problem, but when you
look at the PTS requirements for the maneuvers, they become a
little more complex to get just right. It didn't take me
too long to feel prepared, but, tomorrow is my Checkride, and
you always wonder going in if you'll be able to perform as good
on the ride as you did in practice. So needless to say,
things were weighing on me a bit this a.m. and keeping me from
feeling in tune as I sat in Church.
Then I decided rather than wait for Communion time to try to jam
in my prayers, I better get going on them because the list was
pretty long this week. I began my talk with God and in
very short order I felt his complete presence...something I very
much hope is something that you all are familiar with as
well. I've had a relationship with God for a long time,
and when he speaks to me it is unmistakeable and
overwhelming. He stopped me from my rambling and clearly
said to me: "Tim, I'm here with you, don't worry about
everything, I've got it all covered. I already know
everything that you are going to ask. I'm here." It
all just grounded me and became too overwhelming as I sat there
with tears, and all I could say was "Thank You God."
That's all I could come up with as I tried to hide that I was
looking like a fool with my wet eyes and sniffles.
It was interesting these were the words that I came up with
because seemingly unrelated, we're about to enter Thanksgiving
holiday week. Something that I guess I've always kind of
thought of as maybe fairly secular, although I believe the roots
are not. It reminded me that I have more than I could ever
try to account for, that I need to be thankful for. The
people who've been there when I needed them, the family that I
have, and every last thing that God has ever done or given to
me.
A few minutes later as we were listening to the sermon, came
this as one of the verses they brought up:
Philippians 4:6
"Do not be anxious about anything, but
in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Once again, I was floored. For a person in my situation,
with the weight I feel today, especially with tomorrow's
Checkride in front of me, it blew me away that God chose to
bring me these words today, right when I needed
them. Is it just me or is there more at work here
than I thought?
Anyway, I couldn't help but share. I sincerely hope that
you the reader of my often mess of drivel will take the time to
speak with God and bring him your prayers, petitions, and
requests. You may be surprised at what you hear back...
Update 11/21/2106: Not that it matters to anyone, but I
did pass the Checkride!