And while we are doing Pause for Thoughts, here's the one from the Day before.
Lessons from Flying
Most of us, will have flown somewhere in our lives and no doubt moaned along on the way. I do feel sorry for travellers over six foot tall … there’s not much leg-room on a standard plane … but even so we’ve come a long way since the pioneering aviator
s: men and women who took to the sky in flimsy flying machines, folks for whom safety checks meant remembering their goggles: people like Amy Johnston.
Way back on this day in 1930, she finally landed in Australia after an epic 19 day flight from Britain. She travelled more than 11,000 miles with a compass as her only navigation aid, over deserts, jungles and oceans and all without a radio.
You’ve got to admire someone who’s prepared to take such risks, just for the love of life and the thrill of adventure.
Of course the point for Amy Johnson was not just to get to Australia, she could’ve done that on board a ship, It wasn’t even to get there faster than the sea would take her. The thrill was in the risk and journey itself: In attempting to do what hadn’t been done before.
Some people may complain that all the great adventures are now done … every place has been explored … nowhere is beyond the safety of the satellite telephone and there is some truth in that … but there’s still a lot that we might dare to do …
if we have the courage.
s: men and women who took to the sky in flimsy flying machines, folks for whom safety checks meant remembering their goggles: people like Amy Johnston.Way back on this day in 1930, she finally landed in Australia after an epic 19 day flight from Britain. She travelled more than 11,000 miles with a compass as her only navigation aid, over deserts, jungles and oceans and all without a radio.
You’ve got to admire someone who’s prepared to take such risks, just for the love of life and the thrill of adventure.
Of course the point for Amy Johnson was not just to get to Australia, she could’ve done that on board a ship, It wasn’t even to get there faster than the sea would take her. The thrill was in the risk and journey itself: In attempting to do what hadn’t been done before.
Some people may complain that all the great adventures are now done … every place has been explored … nowhere is beyond the safety of the satellite telephone and there is some truth in that … but there’s still a lot that we might dare to do …
if we have the courage.
Our adventure may be something massive, like making poverty a thing of history,
But most of us will probably need to start just where we are planting what Jesus would’ve called the mustard seeds of courage, praying that they will flourish over time.
Which for some might mean just getting through today with its journey to the hospital or bank. Others might discover the strength to not repay one wrong with another. It could make today the day you name your greatest fear or tell someone you love them. Either way there is so much waiting to be done by those who find the courage for the challenge.
PS
The next BBC stuff I'm doing is a week of Prayer for the Day on Radio 4 in early July ... of Joy it's the week of John Calvin's birthday and the London Bombings
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