Flying Lessons

 ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord ~ Romans 8:38-39

The first time I actually got to sit in the co-pilot's seat in a small plane was during high school when my dad's brother invited me to hop into his Cessna for a jaunt around Phoenix.  He carefully explained the instruments in front of me and let me take the wheel once we were up in the air.  The flight was one of my favorite memories from my past.  He taught me how each instrument panel worked and explained navigation using vectors.

Last evening, once again, I felt like some kind of pilot.  This time, the control panel was a bit overwhelming, bells and whistles everywhere, like those jetliners that can fit hundreds of passengers.  While listening to my writer's critique group review my first submissions, I felt like a fish out of water.  "You need to add a transition in this spot.  You are bouncing back from first to third person over here," one reviewer commented.  When it was my turn to critique, I admitted that I was fumbling.  How does someone who is just learning to write edit the work of people who have been doing this all their lives?  It is like a school boy looking for flaws in one of Leonardo DaVinci's paintings.  The group kept encouraging me, sharing how they felt the first time they attempted to edit.  Editing is actually more important than writing, something I will need to practice regularly.

If this book is to be released by March 17th next year, I must learn to fly this jetliner.  It has a full staff of workers who will teach me how to fly, that is, write, edit and publish.  Once in the air, they will teach me how to navigate so that I can reach my destination without any flight delays.  They will fly with me, helping me to man the controls until I am able to one day fly solo.  There will be constant communication with traffic control to avoid any mishaps.

I came home from my writer's meeting feeling like I hit a home run on my first plate appearance as a writer.  Each one of these people will play a vital role in getting this book published.  I stayed up late, going over the notes of each editor and rewriting two blog entries, "Facing an Ugly Past", and "Out of the Cave".  One day, I will be comfortable behind the wheel of this giant plane.  For now, I am content to get to know the people on my team that will guide me on this book-writing journey and rely on them so that I can learn to soar with the eagles.

Thank you, Pete, Adelaide, Byron, Gail and Bob, for giving me the feedback I need to develop my writing.  With your help, I will earn my wings and join the ranks of published writers.  Each day, my prayers are to stay on course and to land the plane safely on March 17th, 2011.  With the Holy Spirit as my co-pilot, and with your help, I believe this plane will land safely and on time.  Each of you has my heart-felt thanks for your assistance.  See you in two weeks for another flying lesson...