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  Have
you ever been accused of ‘day dreaming?’ I’ve been a dreamer
since I was a child. As an eight year old on our small East Texas
farm I used to dream of flying. I now hold a commercial pilot’s
license for airplanes and helicopters and I remember vividly the
flight test that qualified me as a commercial pilot. But, that was
not my first flight. I remember, we lived directly under the flight
path of Air Force B-52 Bombers, which trained in North Texas, and we
saw many airplanes flying over. I used to watch those big airplanes
and wonder what it would be like to be the pilot, far above the
earth, soaring through the clouds. My dream was to someday be a
pilot.
One Saturday 4 of my brothers and I had a free
afternoon and were playing in the barn. There were some old boards
lying around, so they decided to build an airplane. They nailed two
boards in the shape of a cross and nailed a smaller one across the
main board near the back, thus completing the fuselage and front and
back wings. They put a vertical fin on the back and made a cockpit
from an old apple crate. One of them cut a piece of tin in the shape
of a propeller, twisted it so it would be turned by the wind and
nailed it on the very front. A big stick appeared from somewhere and
was nailed to the floor inside the apple crate, to provide
controls. The airplane would not compete with any of the major
aircraft manufacturers but it was complete.
I was the youngest and smallest one there so
they all decided I was to be the pilot. My older brother Jack placed
me in the cockpit and spaced the three oldest ones around
the plane, one on each wingtip and one in the back. They lifted the
little wooden airplane up onto their shoulders and ran out of the
barnyard and toward the back fence. I was gripping that stick
tightly and the wind was turning the tin propeller. Then, something
amazing happened; I pulled back on that stick as I had done so many
times in my dreams. And, in my eight-year-old mind, that airplane
lifted off the shoulders of my brothers and cleared the fence! I
could see myself climbing over the pond near the barn, crossing the
stream and turning over the cornfield as I circled and climbed
toward the clouds. I could see my brothers far below in the back
yard, waving to me as I climbed into the clouds to join in a flight
of Air Force airplanes. That was my first flight. And, I can
truthfully tell you this; that flight was as real to me as the one
that got me the Commercial License!
It’s all about being able to dream about the
future and take steps necessary to bring your dreams into
reality. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision the people
perish.” (KJV) When you are in tune with what God wants for your
life the vision will become more clear and in agreement with
Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the
Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a
hope and a future.” (NIV)
Common Sense Application
1. When you decide on a course of action to
accomplish something in your life do not let distractions keep you
from concentrating on your goal.
2. Stick to your plan until you begin to see
more of your dreams really come true.
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