It’s 4 am in the morning and I am driving to Dansville, New York on Labor Day to attend the annual hot air balloon festival. The pilots and crew chiefs are called to attend their morning briefing. Sunrise at 6:36 shows the sky to be clear except for some early morning fog descending along the valley. There would be a 20-minute delay to reassess the weather. In the crowd, I notice a photographer holding a telephoto lens. I scoot over and ask him what settings he plans to use on his digital to shoot the hot air balloons. In my practice, I have discovered that “men like to talk about their gadgets.”A distinguished firefighter for over 30 years working at Kodak Park, this “gentle-man” retired and transferred his life saving skills into the realm of capturing the beauty of nature. Comparing notes about our experiences “in the wild,” we heard the announcement that the balloon launch would be canceled. The fog was too much a danger. My kind mentor noted that two parks were near the Dansville airfield. We “hooked up” and drove to Stoneybrook and later to Letchworth Park.
Sometimes broken plans lead us in directions we could never have imagined. Many times, we have made plans in our life about a career, a relationship, our vacation, or retirement and plans get cancelled due to poor weather, poor health or maybe a poor attitude.
Jesus taught a message that was a stumbling block for his disciples. He announced that his life would be “canceled.” He would have to suffer, die and rise from the dead. Personally, we would prefer to skip the suffering and save ourselves, our children, our neighbor from any pain. Yet despite, our humanity, I believe we are most divine when we surrender our need for survival and put our life on the line.
Thanking this retired firefighter for saving a broken morning, he was shooting the middle falls at Letchworth as I drove away. However, while driving out of park, I noticed a flock of turkey vultures gathered on a hilltop. One by one they took off to soar up into the thermals. So instead of taking images of slick hot air balloons, let me share with you a divine moment as these birds soared into my viewfinder with the clouds of glory as their backdrop.
The Lord prays for us as we reflect “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.” (Psalm 20:7).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine friends whose saving hands have reached out to someone struggling in their moments of suffering. Bless our firefighters and all our emergency professionals who daily risk their lives to save others from darkness and fear.
