Something truly amazing at 37,000 feet

Written October 1, 2007

I saw the most amazing thing on Saturday night. Clark and I were working a flight from Oakland, CA to Chicago, IL. It's a long flight, so I went up to the cockpit to take the pilots some coffe and talk for a bit. I had been up there for about 15 minutes, and I have no idea what time it was. I actually saw the moon rise at 41,000 feet. It was nothing short of breathtaking! It's different from seeing the sun set or moon rise from the ground, it's almost like watching it come up over water, but they were clouds and instead of appearing from top to bottom in a half-circle, then circle; it happened like the stages of the moon. Quarter moon that looked like a "C", then half-moon, then 3/4 "C" moon, then full moon. It was wild.
For people who do not like to fly or have never flown, these are the types of things I can't explain. They are the most awe-inspiring and humbling things witness. There is no other place in the world that confirms the presence of a higher power- call him/her/it by whatever name you'd like- like being in an airplane and looking down at the world below and out at the clouds and not being able to fathom what's above. And, for me, it reinforces the religous beliefs that I hold true and am teaching my daughter: that this presence wants us to have our heart's desires and know that we are worthy because we are His children, no begging, no pleading, no special candles or specific church affiliation needed. God is love and we are ALL worthy of it.