Bird Watching...Well Big Metal Bird Watching

Lately I have been taking my lunch break from the office and driving down to Sarasota\Bradenton International Airport (which is only 2 miles from my office) and watching the birds fly into town and land. You might think I'm crazy for religiously parking my Dodge Intrepid right in line with the landing strobe lights making sure the jets pass ever closely to my vehicle. Perhaps its the rumble I feel when the engines' exhaust hit my car, perhaps the noise level, perhaps the excitement and awe that I have whenever I contemplate the achievements that have been made in aviation in the last few years. Perhaps I just want to get away from the ordinary sitting in a Mcdonalds with 20 other strangers gnawing away at their dollar menu items. I enjoy, and need, for that that matter the time away from all interruptions and endless planning for church. The airport has been my place to not only think about airplanes and how I wish I took the licensing school when I had the chance, but a place I can think about God.

Do you have a place you go to when you need to be alone? Jesus went on his own to pray for others and for himself (Matthew 26:36-46). I often wonder where God would go in this world to "get away" and watch the birds. What place on earth did God set aside as his most prized piece of creation in which he finds the most pleasure by gazing on it? Some stake claim on it being their home state, while others claim it to be on a mountain top or the ocean floor.

God doesn't need to get away from it all because unlike us humans, He can handle all the pressures of the world. Perhaps He gave us wondrous things, places, views, and even airplanes to help us appreciate life a little more.

God want us to spend time with him alone as much as possible. How else can you truly get to know someone unless you do? Find that spot that no one else can bother you at, look around in creation, marvel at God's work and enjoy life to the fullest.