Bird's Eye View

I'm back from Indiana and definitely glad to be home. Having not traveled much, it was interesting to see snapshots of various parts of the country. As I flew over certain cities, I found myself intrigued by . . . . the way homes were laid out.

Charlotte, North Carolina had trees everywhere. It was like every home had a forest for a backyard. (I suppose that happened to be the view from the airplane. I'm sure not all of Charlotte is like that but there was definitely lots of green.)

Indianapolis, Indiana had a very suburban look with practically every home having both a front and back yard. But then it changed as we flew over the downtown urban area and all the homes were cramped together - many without any yards.

Phoenix, Arizona was distinctly square. Every block was kind of like a cookie cutter neighborhood block, multiplied hundreds of times throughout the city. The city looked like one huge grid of parallel and perpendicular roads and filled with track homes. From up above, you can distinctly see the perimeter of the city.

This was largely different once we were over Southern California! From a bird's eye view over the Los Angeles Basin, you can't really see a perimeter. The land from as far as the ocean to as far as the mountains to very far inland were all full of structures - homes, industrial buildings, businesses, lakes, farm land, roads going many different directions, and thin free ways. The impressive thing about seeing this was that it was evident how many people live here. You don't typically see what millions of people look like because you most likely won't see that many standing side by side. However, seeing thousands of homes spread throughout the region, with probably at least 3-4 people living in each home, helped me to visually realize the millions of people that are here. It's crazy really when I think about it.

From up top, I wondered how many people down there are gay? How many people out there are searching for some kind of peace or resolution from the conflict they find in their sexuality and faith? The perspective from several thousand feet in the air was interesting as I realized that there are so many people out there that are hurting, wounded, and confused about their lives. I can only imagine the compassion that fills God's heart as He sees all of this from all of us at the same time.