Today started off pretty regular, woke up.. not too excited to be awake, had a little QT, got showered and ready for the day and headed to the office. (tried out my new JORDAN starbucks cup from my bff) Sat down at my desk like any other typical Tuesday and began to write my weekly to do list. I kind of live and die by my to do list. I feel rather accomplished when I check things off my list. So today's list like most Tuesdays was... write to do list, staff prayer, staff meeting, and like 5-6 other tasks (some random just to make the boss laugh, but mostly all things that "need to" get done). So I wrote my list, printed it (so I could have the satisfaction of checking off things when they are done), sent it to my boss, and began to get things done. Although I am HIGHLY task oriented I am also aware that there are other things like people and experiences that are more important (sorry little disclaimer action needed there).
So my boss/ pastor has us meet in a room for staff prayer (that was a little less than business as usual... inspiring and encouraging). Then he tells us that we are going OUT of the building for our staff meeting, once we started driving I quickly figured out where we were going. We went to a museum here on Long Island called the Cradle of Aviation. As a closet geek I was internally PUMPED... I love museums and zoos and places like that. As we walked around I was filled with all these different emotions and thoughts. And as "super christian" as it sounds I began to pray, God show me something that I can apply to my life, help me to see something you want me to see. So we walked around and I geekishly took tons of pictures on my phone and wrote notes down on my notepad on my phone.
When we first started walking around the building I was really impressed with the information a gentlemen was sharing with us about this air plane from Israel. The plan had 4 members in the cockpit, a pilot, a co-pilot, the flight navigator and the flight engineer. My first thought was, wow what a team... and then I focused on the word TEAM. It wasn't a one man show, it was a team effort, and each person played a part. I began to think about how important it was for people to have other around them that they walk through life with. People who accompany them on the journey and share the work load. Thank GOD for team! The gentleman who was sharing information with us also talked to us about a piece of equipment called the sexton. The sexton is the way they navigated before GPS, they used the sun and the stars to determine where they were going. Amazing how even way back God had already put into place the things we needed to be able to accomplish tasks way bigger then ourselves. Flying a plane to a destination without a GPS... wow... and a team... guess what... EL AL (the Israel airline) had the SAFEST safety record... maybe because they had a team?!?!?
But then we crossed into this part of the museum where you learn about the progression of aeronautics. As I walked around I was awed by the things that I was seeing and learning/relearning. But then there was this woman, and at first I think I was just impressed because of her gender, but then as I learned more about her story I was blown away. Harriet Quimby was born to a poor farm family in the midwest, when she grew up she became a writer and then she began to explore aviation. Quimby was the first female to fly over the English channel. Unfortunately for her she made that flight the day after the Titanic sank, so she got little to no publicity for it. She was also Amelia Eirheart's idol, that's who Amelia wanted to be like. Oddly enough I wanted to be Amelia when I was a kid. I thought she was so cool because she was doing things that "only men" should have been doing. I always thought she was so cool. One of Quimby's first flights was less then 1/2 mile from the house I grew up in as a kid. So crazy to think that someone who had such an impact on aeronautics had that impact so close to the place I grew up. (That could be a whole different blog at some point). The take away I got from Quimby's experiences were these... 1- Dare to Dream, 2- Don't worry about who is going to recognize your accomplishments, 3- Don't give up on your dreams, and 4- Do what you love (if you can die doing it... added bonus).
A not so typical tuesday without a doubt in my little world. I may not ALWAYS remember this day but I will forever remember the impact of changing things up so that growth, vision, passion, and inspiration are given a catalyst. Thankful for a boss/pastor and friend who is willing to push me to grow in such subtle ways. So much respect for him and so thankful for the influence he's been in my life.
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