Promise
I’ve always been interested in flying, weather, and the interaction of sunlight and clouds... the Earth, from on high, can be pretty amazing. This image shows two things I’ve never before seen from the air... virga, which is rain that evaporates before it reaches ground, and rainbows. It was taken Saturday between what appears to be about 10-12,000 feet over North Dallas as we’re descending for landing at DFW in the next 15 minutes.
Though they’re not exactly a rarity, from my experience, everyone seems to react similarly to rainbows... with awe and excitement. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Ugh! Another rainbow.” There’s likely good reason for that, as stated in Genesis 9:16, “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” Before you scoff at this, you should know that at some point in the history of this planet, the atmospheric pressure (and therefore temperature) was much higher than it currently is... a rainbow may not have been possible in those conditions. The flood changed that and the rainbow became a symbol of promise.
Our final destination was Colorado Springs, Colorado. We were there for the interment of Joyce’s Aunt Chris at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery. Chris was the wife of General Horace Wade, who was Joyce’s mother’s older brother. Though they both had walked in lofty places throughout their lives, Chris and Horace upheld their modest and humble beginnings from the small town where they grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas. He had predeceased Chris by 13 years, and now they would be together again. Ironically, Aunt Chris lived in Macon, Georgia, only about 15 minutes away from my dad in Juliette, Georgia. I had gotten to know her well since my time with Joyce. We were able to visit with her just shortly before she died at age 97... she is among the last of a great generation, a generation of promise to us all.
Horace began his career as a B-24 pilot in World War II, where he saw action in the European, African, and Japanese Theaters. He also flew B-17s and B-29s then as a command pilot... he eventually flew B-36s, B-47s, and finally B-52's before his retirement. With more than 8,450 hours of flying time during his service, he was quite good at it... he was at home with views like this. After the war, he worked closely with General Curtis LeMay to establish the U.S. Air Force out from the Army Air Corp. General Wade was also an advocate for education, and has both an innovation and education award named for him. He also helped to found the Air Force Academy, a promise to generations to come.
What most folks don’t seem to know is that once someone reaches command rank in the services, the first two general stars come from the service itself... the third and fourth stars come from Congress, where not just the recipient, but the family, is vetted for the utmost in character. The reason for that is that higher ranking generals, and often their families, also serve somewhat as ambassadors. Horace rose to the rank of General (designated 4-star rank), and served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in the time of the “Cold War”.
Ambassadors are not kings or presidents. Their function is to carry the message of such people to leaders of other lands. Chris took that role seriously, though often hilariously. She planned many events and functions that brought together such leaders and other ambassadors from many foreign nations. Often she would arrange for adversaries and antagonists to be seated together at these events... and just as often, those folks would leave together in lighthearted conversation, respectful of each other. I wish the world were more capable of that now.
Chris told us of a particular incident at a Christmas party that involved many of the world’s movers and shakers. There was also a young girl there, and she had received a present that no one seemed to be able to figure out... it was the game of jacks. In front of everyone, Chris hiked up her evening gown, got down on her knees, and showed the little girl how to play jacks. She said that her husband was ominously quiet on the ride home that night, so she asked him point-blank what she had done wrong. “Nothing”, he said. “I was just wondering how you knew how to play jacks.” Apparently, growing up in quintessential small-town America has its advantages.
She was an unassuming woman in extraordinary times, though she could be stunningly outspoken when the need arose. Though short in stature, she stood tall, as did many in that great generation. I wonder what they would think of so god-less and narcissistic a generation as I’ve witnessed of late. Eighteenth Century British writer and lawyer, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee, describes the inevitable cycle of society in this way:
•From bondage to spiritual faith
•From spiritual faith to great courage
•From great courage to strength
•From strength to liberty
•From liberty to abundance
•From abundance to leisure
•From leisure to selfishness
•From selfishness to complacency
•From complacency to apathy
•From apathy to dependence
•From dependence to weakness
•From weakness back to bondage
Where do you suspect we are along that timeline? Perhaps it's time to get back to a generation that understands why rainbows, however intangible, are nothing less than a promise.
Promise
I’ve always been interested in flying, weather, and the interaction of sunlight and clouds... the Earth, from on high, can be pretty amazing. This image shows two things I’ve never before seen from the air... virga, which is rain that evaporates before it reaches ground, and rainbows. It was taken Saturday between what appears to be about 10-12,000 feet over North Dallas as we’re descending for landing at DFW in the next 15 minutes.
Though they’re not exactly a rarity, from my experience, everyone seems to react similarly to rainbows... with awe and excitement. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Ugh! Another rainbow.” There’s likely good reason for that, as stated in Genesis 9:16, “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” Before you scoff at this, you should know that at some point in the history of this planet, the atmospheric pressure (and therefore temperature) was much higher than it currently is... a rainbow may not have been possible in those conditions. The flood changed that and the rainbow became a symbol of promise.
Our final destination was Colorado Springs, Colorado. We were there for the interment of Joyce’s Aunt Chris at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery. Chris was the wife of General Horace Wade, who was Joyce’s mother’s older brother. Though they both had walked in lofty places throughout their lives, Chris and Horace upheld their modest and humble beginnings from the small town where they grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas. He had predeceased Chris by 13 years, and now they would be together again. Ironically, Aunt Chris lived in Macon, Georgia, only about 15 minutes away from my dad in Juliette, Georgia. I had gotten to know her well since my time with Joyce. We were able to visit with her just shortly before she died at age 97... she is among the last of a great generation, a generation of promise to us all.
Horace began his career as a B-24 pilot in World War II, where he saw action in the European, African, and Japanese Theaters. He also flew B-17s and B-29s then as a command pilot... he eventually flew B-36s, B-47s, and finally B-52's before his retirement. With more than 8,450 hours of flying time during his service, he was quite good at it... he was at home with views like this. After the war, he worked closely with General Curtis LeMay to establish the U.S. Air Force out from the Army Air Corp. General Wade was also an advocate for education, and has both an innovation and education award named for him. He also helped to found the Air Force Academy, a promise to generations to come.
What most folks don’t seem to know is that once someone reaches command rank in the services, the first two general stars come from the service itself... the third and fourth stars come from Congress, where not just the recipient, but the family, is vetted for the utmost in character. The reason for that is that higher ranking generals, and often their families, also serve somewhat as ambassadors. Horace rose to the rank of General (designated 4-star rank), and served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in the time of the “Cold War”.
Ambassadors are not kings or presidents. Their function is to carry the message of such people to leaders of other lands. Chris took that role seriously, though often hilariously. She planned many events and functions that brought together such leaders and other ambassadors from many foreign nations. Often she would arrange for adversaries and antagonists to be seated together at these events... and just as often, those folks would leave together in lighthearted conversation, respectful of each other. I wish the world were more capable of that now.
Chris told us of a particular incident at a Christmas party that involved many of the world’s movers and shakers. There was also a young girl there, and she had received a present that no one seemed to be able to figure out... it was the game of jacks. In front of everyone, Chris hiked up her evening gown, got down on her knees, and showed the little girl how to play jacks. She said that her husband was ominously quiet on the ride home that night, so she asked him point-blank what she had done wrong. “Nothing”, he said. “I was just wondering how you knew how to play jacks.” Apparently, growing up in quintessential small-town America has its advantages.
She was an unassuming woman in extraordinary times, though she could be stunningly outspoken when the need arose. Though short in stature, she stood tall, as did many in that great generation. I wonder what they would think of so god-less and narcissistic a generation as I’ve witnessed of late. Eighteenth Century British writer and lawyer, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee, describes the inevitable cycle of society in this way:
•From bondage to spiritual faith
•From spiritual faith to great courage
•From great courage to strength
•From strength to liberty
•From liberty to abundance
•From abundance to leisure
•From leisure to selfishness
•From selfishness to complacency
•From complacency to apathy
•From apathy to dependence
•From dependence to weakness
•From weakness back to bondage
Where do you suspect we are along that timeline? Perhaps it's time to get back to a generation that understands why rainbows, however intangible, are nothing less than a promise.