Flight into Glory

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Suzanne Montgomery

Last week was my Uncle Chuck’s birthday and my cousin, Mona posted an old photo of her dad on Facebook. He’s been gone now for several years and is greatly missed. Chuck Scales was a man of strong character with a powerful presence. He and my dad were classmates at Purdue University in Air Transportation Engineering. I believe that it was my dad who introduced him to his younger sister, Gaynelle who was also attending Purdue. They were married shortly after graduation, moved down to his hometown of Huntingburg Indiana and started their family. My 3 cousins, Brad, Mona and Sheryl, are the same age as my sister and I . Tragedy struck for our families when my Aunt Gaynelle died at the age of 32. Chuck suddenly became a single father with 3 small children. Fortunately, a wonderful, caring women came into his life to love him and his children. Chuck and Diane were married and she helped him raise them as her own.

Chuck’s passion was flying. Both he and my dad became accomplished pilots and both of them managed airports as their careers. I remember many flights down to the Huntingburg airport for their annual airshow every summer. We had great times with our cousins during our visits exploring the woods behind their house, creating plays from books we had read and playing marathon Monopoly games for days. During one such visit, Aunt Diane and Uncle Chuck were brave enough to take all five of us kids for a drive-in movie. We all loaded into their station wagon with pillows and blankets piled in the back. Upon arriving the girls immediately needed to go to the restroom. Uncle Chuck used to tell us that we were members of the TWBC: the Teeny Weeny Bladder Club. I’m still a member of that organization to this day. At the time, however, I think we just wanted an excuse to go to the concession stand to view all the candy and snacks offered there. When we were back to the car and settled in for the movie to start, it didn’t take long for us to fall asleep cuddled up in the back together. I imagine this was the whole point of going to the movie so we would wear ourselves out. The adults had some quiet time to enjoy the movie in peace. These are good memories indeed!

The last time I saw my Uncle Chuck, he was at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis. He had been diagnosed previously with prostate cancer and it had unfortunately spread to many sites. His doctor’s were suggesting another surgery to remove some of the cancer from his abdomen. He knew that the surgery was not going to cure him and the doctors couldn’t guarantee that it would even prolong his life. I remember sitting by his side on a foot stool and discussing the decision he had to make. Many family members were in the room supporting him as much as they were able. It was Independence Day and they all watched the fireworks together that night over the city. He eventually made the decision not to have the surgery and went home to Huntingburg with my aunt Diane to care for him. It wasn’t long until he passed away. I was glad to have the opportunity to sit quietly with him that day by his bedside. It was a special moment that I will never forget.

Later my nephew, Nick gave my Aunt Diane a painting in honor of my uncle. It depicted an airplane, like the one he often flew, climbing up through the clouds. The color of the sky was that of a sunrise with beautiful shades of oranges and purples. It’s was an image of Chuck’s flight into glory. I’m sure my uncle would have seen this as a fitting tribute to a life well lived. <3

Life’s Little Joys

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Suzanne Montgomery

I’m so tired this morning. It’s difficult to wake up to write in my journal. Glad it’s Friday! The little joys in life are what make me smile, like a cup of warm coffee, freshly ground, with pumpkin pie spice creamer. Yum! Maybe this will wake me up.

Other little joys are:

– a soft warm cat to cuddle

– playing footsy in bed

– the glow of a harvest moon

– a song that’s been in my head, playing on the radio

– the taste of a juicy, sweet watermelon

– grass beneath my toes

– a good, clean joke that makes me laugh every time I think of it.

– a crackling fire on a cold night

– the smell of fallen leaves and pine as I walk through the woods

– catching sight of a zooming hummingbird

– a fuzzy bathrobe

These are just a few of the little things that make me feel alive. None of them cost a lot of money or are difficult to come by. I just need to stop a moment in my busy day to notice them. The little joys are all around me. They change depending on where I am or who I’m with but they are there just the same. Gifts from God.

Happiness can be elusive but joy is a choice. It’s the choice to look at life through a different lens. A photographer knows what I mean. A scene that to most is just ordinary comes to life for them. They see the color, the form, the way the shadows fall that come together to make a beautiful photograph. Their eyes are trained to see the world in a unique way.

How we look at the world will determine what we see and what we experience. No matter what our circumstance, there will be little joys if we open our senses to them. Even if we are in a dark place, with no sounds or smells, our mind can take us to a place of joy. It can recall a memory with all the colors, smells and sounds, as if it is real.

Louie Zamperini in his story “Unbroken” as told by Laura Hillenbrand, tells of when he was adrift on a raft in the Pacific ocean with 2 other men after their plane crashed.during WWII. They had no food but the few fish and birds they could catch and had no water except when it rained. They played a game of recalling memories. Louie would recount in detail an Italian meal served by his mother back in California. Dish by dish, they would relish this imaginary meal. One would think that this would be counterproductive to dream of a meal they might never eat again but it wasn’t. It was these memories that kept them alive and gave them hope. Two of the 3 airmen, Louie and Phil, survived 46 days at sea unfortunately to be then captured by the Japanese. They both survived another 2 years in a brutal POW camp. Louie just passed away this last summer. He was in his 90’s.

The mind is a powerful thing. Our mind is a gift but we can use it against ourselves if we choose. Paul said to the church of Philippi in Greece, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praise worthy-think upon such things.” In other words, keep your mind on the positive, not the negative parts of life. What we allow our minds to dwell on, will rule our day. So I choose today to let my thoughts dwell on the little joys of life. No one can take these away from me but myself.

A Reflection of Glory

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Suzanne Montgomery

So today I start a new journal. It may seem odd but I’m using a notebook given to me some time ago by a pharmaceutical rep. It’s a nice notebook but it has stamped on the front of it the words, “Lunesta.” Someday no one will even remember that Lunesta was a sleeping pill. The latin word “Luna” means moon so in time people will simply think the name has something to do with the moon or the night sky.

This seems appropriate for my journal. I’ve heard it said that we Christians should be like the moon in that It doesn’t emit light of its own but reflects the light of the sun. What light we carry in us is from God: the divine spark. When we think we are enlightened by our own knowledge, we deceive ourselves. Who created our mind to think but God? Some would argue this with me but it takes more faith to believe that we come from nothing, just a random occurrence, than to believe in a creator. I choose to believe we were created in the image of God. An image is a reflection-it’s not God. But the image can become more and more like the human manifestation of God, Jesus. It doesn’t happen in a moment but is a slow process that doesn’t end until we are given our resurrection bodies that are perfect.

Yes, perfection is a process, not a single event. It is often painful as we are changed little by little in God’s skillful hands. We are molded and shaped by the Master Potter. It’s easy for me in this perfecting process to either think too much of myself or too little. I go back and forth. God sees me as his daughter, an heir of his kingdom. Not that I earned this title but it was gifted to me. So I can’t boast in this accomplishment but reflect the glory of it to others around me.

I am so far from perfect. It often seems an unobtainable dream to me. I feel like I take one step forward and then two back. When I’m trying to change myself, it’s often fraught with discouragement. Only God can do it. He is able to transform me through the fire of his love into something beautiful. He can do this with each one of us if we will only hand our mess over to him. He will then change us from one glory to the next so that in the end, we will glow as we reflect the brilliance of his Son.

Lord, make me into the person of beauty you envisioned from the beginning of time so I may reflect your glory. I give you everything I own and everything I am. I am yours and you are mine. Do with me as you will.