As far back as I can remember I would look up when I heard an airplane go over and wonder where it was going and what it would be like to be the pilot.  When I fly on a commercial flight I would wonder what it looks like from the pilot’s seat as we are taking off down the runway and the same when we come in to land.  In my mind, I would think, and then I began to say out loud, ONE DAY I WILL FLY A PLANE!   I know I could fly that plane with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Well, for my birthday this year, my sons got together and having known a flight instructor at the college aviation center they set it up so we could go up in a four seat Cessna 172 and she would allow me to fly the plane.  Wow! I could hear her now, telling me to take the yoke (steering wheel) once we’ve leveled off at whatever level she would take us to.

The time of departure was set for 11:00 AM on Sunday because of schedule and the fact that there wouldn’t be much local air traffic at that time.  I was at the college terminal at 10:30, introduced myself to the flight instructor and ask if I could do the preflight check with her.  Sure can, she answered and assigned me a set of radio head gear and out we went.

Because of weight limits, she had to have a mechanic remove over half the fuel from both tanks to accommodate us three big guys.   

The boys arrived as we were just finishing the preflight.  Took a couple of pictures and we got in and finished the check list.   Started the engine and then ask if I would like to taxi the plane out to the runway.  Sure, I answered.  I handed my iPad back to the guys.  (I was going to record the view of the take off from the pilots seat.)  Instructions came to follow the yellow line.  The peddles steer the plane while on the ground.  The bottom part of the peddle controls the rudder;  left peddle turns us left, right peddle turns us left, the top of the peddle is the brake.  OK

Here we go, left at Echo, then left at Delta .  This is so cool, I know I’m only driving the plane and not flying it, but it was a great feeling.  We stopped just before the runway and she did a run up test.  Run the engine RPM up with the breaks on, check the oil presser and whatever else she needed to see.  OK, taxi out and turn onto the runway.

Now, the words that have resounded in my head so many times since, she said, push the throttle full bore, keeping the nose of the plane over the line in the middle of the runway and take off,  I’ll tell you when to pull back on the yoke.  Man, my first thought was, is she joking me?  And I knew exactly what my boys where thinking in the back, are you kidding me, let me out of here!

I got to stop right here and tell you that just before we got on the plane, as the instructor went inside to check on something, my son said, dad, I had a dream last night that we were on the runway ready to take off when I noticed that there were just the three of us in the plane and I said hey wait a minute, what happened to the instructor?  And as you pushed in the throttle you said, it’s OK  they told me what I need to do and off we went.  I ask him, well, how did I do landing?  He said, I don’t know, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.

OK, back to the story.  I pushed the throttle in a little as I wanted to make sure I could keep the plane on the line. She said all the way in, OK here is goes.  I can’t tell you how fast we were going (I wasn’t about to take my eyes off that line) when she said, OK pull back the yoke.  As we were climbing, I was trying to see over the nose of the plane. When she said you can level off now, hewee, I can see.  I flew that plane for about an hour and half over Boardman lake, big and little Glen lake, followed the coast of Lake Michigan, over Lake Leelanau, Grand Traverse Bay, Elk Lake, Torch Lake and then over our house so we could get a picture, then as we headed  back to the airport she said, do you want to land?  Still trying to grasp the words I heard an hour or so earlier, I thought about it for a minute then said, I’ll watch you this time, I’ll do it next time.  Then I got my iPad back and filmed the landing.  I knew that would be a delightful answer to those in the back seat too.

What a blessing it was to have a dream come true and then to top it off, to do it with my sons with me.  Re-dream your dreams, dream them bigger, God is up to it and He is waiting to fulfill them with you.  Remember,  Ephesians 3:20,  He is the one that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.  And, He wants to do it for you and for me.  We are the only limitation in the equation. 

You know, I could have titled this story;  Psalm 35:4  I delight myself in the Lord and He gave me the desire of my heart.  Remember, we are in a time when the supernatural with become the natural.  The Word says, it will be as if I was dreaming.  I now can relate to that.  There are new levels for us all to go to, we need only to seek them, dream them, and position ourselves to be in the right atmosphere to nourish our dreams. 

The only thing that would have made this better is, if my daughter and Cee Jay and you too could have been with me. Next time I get this Divine favor, maybe it will be Boeing 747 and everybody can come.  How about that?