July 28, 2021
37,000 Feet in the Air: A Prayer
O Lord, my prayer
is to be
in the air
(again),
to be
37,000 feet
in the air
is my prayer
(to be precise),
flying over the southern United Sates
on the way to
San Diego,
as we did just a month ago;
3 hours and 57 minutes of
bliss;
no calls,
no news,
no traffic,
hardly any voices heard at all,
except the one voice it was a pleasure to hear:
“Would you like something to drink?”
(Don’t even bother to ask because
I’m not telling);
looking out the window,
looking down,
looking at
cities and farms, green expanses soon giving way to
brown barren badlands,
then mountains gray and black,
no lines on the ground outlining
what state is below,
no colors on the ground coloring the ground
red or blue,
nothing on the ground
but mile after mile of ground,
mile after mile of the United States,
and from 37,000 feet
easy to pretend that we are
united;
blessed
bliss
of finally being able to
get away,
see family,
forget
for a moment
all that’s going on
far down below,
going on still,
the madness
that is politics,
the madness
that is religion,
the madness
that is culture;
for a moment
peace
as sit safely cradled
in that big 767-400ER
37,000 feet in the air;
clouds towering up and up
taking my thoughts with them,
except for one thought,
the thought
of seeing my brother and his family after
too long apart,
needing to see him and him me,
because who’s kidding who,
at our age
every time
we see each other
could be the
last time
we see each other,
slowly descending,
ground coming up to meet us,
Kitty cringing,
me smiling
(I love flying),
smooth touchdown,
soon on the sidewalk,
soon handshakes and hugs,
blessed
bliss.
O Lord, how I wish everyone could get away
somehow in
some way to
somewhere,
because
everyone
needs to get away
now and then,
just as Jesus and his disciples needed to get away
when it all became
too much for them,
the crowds,
the demands,
the expectations;
no time to eat,
no time to rest,
no time to think;
exhausted;
going to a place away from it all,
getting away from it all,
glad to be away from it all,
blessed bliss,
not at 37,000 feet maybe,
but still
away from it all enough
to be refreshed
and be
able to face it all
once again.
And my prayer, O Lord, is that if not in the air,
then somewhere,
somehow, in
some way
we all of us can get away;
TV off,
phone off,
computer off,
giving the Spirit
a chance with our spirits,
a chance to heal our battered spirits,
a chance to renew our weary spirits;
maybe
on a deck
only 13 feet in the air, or
the beach, the mountains, if able, or
some special place nearby, or
just staying where we are,
enjoying seeing family again,
a friend again,
and for a time
no politics, no anger, no madness maddening,
all that’s going on gotten away from,
only friendship, love, even peace going on,
blessed
bliss.
And we pray, O Lord, for those who can’t get away,
get away from
chronic illness or disease or pain;
grief and sadness;
a sense of helplessness, hopelessness;
memories that hurt and haunt;
guilts that paralyze;
or hunger or demons possessing.
Heal them, comfort them, strengthen them, release them,
help them,
help them through it all.
O Lord, somehow, somewhere, in some way
restore
our souls;
because that’s what
my prayer
to be
in the air
is all about:
spirits
restored,
refreshed,
renewed;
bliss.
Amen