Caterpillar Astonishment.

So.  I'm flying home this weekend.  Not home exactly, but close to home.  Close enough to see my cousin get married.  Anyways.  That's besides the point.

Right now, I'm on the plane.  And to be honest, I always get a little anxious before I fly.  I say that like I fly a lot., but I don't.  No frequent flyers miles here.  But. I have flown before.  And, well, what can I say?  I've seen movies.  I've seen part of LOST.  I've watched the news.  Planes crash and terrorists exist.  And I know the probability is crazy low, but still, there exists a probability.  Plus. Honestly, how dependable does it sound to put that many people in that heavy of a machine, and throw them up in the sky?  Doesn't sound crazy dependable to me.

Anyways.  I go through security and find gate A2, get my Starbucks Passion Tea, and wait at the gate to board.  Finally I get safely seated in seat 19A and wait for 19B to arrive.  But.  They didn't show, so now I've got this nice extra space next to me.  Anyways.  It's time for take off so I just lean back and prepare to glance out the conveniently placed window. 
So. We're off.  And here's where it gets amazing.  Man.  There aren't really words to even explain it.  But.  There's no way there's not a God.  No. Way.  If anybody has ever flown, they have to know.  The cars get so little and the buildings get so small.  You can see the fields and the lakes and the big rivers.  So many awesome shaped patterns.  And I know I'm somewhat of a mathematical nerd, but that kind of geometry is awesome.  And everything just keeps shrinking.  And that's where you're reminded how HUGE God is.  How big and mighty.  How man can never take credit for this kind of creation.  We're way too stupid to do anything like that. 

And then it all continues to shrink, and you can see that you're coming near the clouds.  Like they're a ceiling.  And then I look over, and the sun is just gleaming through some clouds in this amazing ray of colors.  Pink, orange and yellow mainly.  And that's when you're reminded of the beauty that God possesses.  Once again.  No WAY man could ever do that.  We're too busy to stop and think about beauty these days, none the less come up with it.  But God wasn't.  God is brilliantly beautiful. 

Then it's time to go higher up through the clouds.  And today, they look like sheep's wool.  And then I'm reminded how inviting God is.  Because I just wanted to run and frolic barefoot on those clouds.  As lame as that sounds. 

And then the flight attendant brings me peanuts.  And, while I'm sure the bags of peanuts have gotten much smaller than they used to be, peanuts are my new favorite snack these days.  So.  Yum to that.

Lately, I've been feeling like I just haven't been moving.  I just felt like my life has just been sitting.  I mean, I'm happy.  So content.  Wouldn't really change anything.  I love my friends.  I love my family.  I love my life.  But I just have been needing more God.  And I don't really talk about that much at all.  It's just a 'reverent' sort of thing to me I guess.  And I only talk about it with the right people in the right moments.  So, when people ask me 'how I'm doin with God', I just say "good" and we move on.  But I wasn't satisfied.  But this.  This is awesome.  I needed this reminder of God's beauty and strength and love.  And it's still right next to me.  I'm on sunset level and the clouds are below me looking like the most inviting fluffy rug ever to exist.   

It's like the caterpillar astonishment from Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  He asks his wife if she ever has wondered what goes through a caterpillars head.  He says, "For all its caterpillar life, it crawls around a small patch of dirt and up and down a few plants.  Then one day it take a nap.  A long nap.  And then, what in the world must go through its head when it wakes up to discover it can fly?  What happened to its dirty, plump little worm body?  What does it think when it sees its tiny new body and gorgeous wings?  As believers, we ought to experience this same kind of astonishment when the Holdy Spirit enters our bodies.  We should be stunned in disbelief over becoming a 'new creation' with the Spirit living in us.  As the caterpillar finds its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our Spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully."         

And it's this.  This is the astonishment that we're supposed to be living in. 

So.  I can only pray that we all live in that astonishment everyday.   Because it's there everyday.  And it's strong.  And it's beautiful.  And it's ever so inviting.