Musings of a Maus: Air & Space

We got to visit the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum today for the fourth time in a few years. After not have been around planes for a little while now, I explored the museum with as much gusto as the other visitors for once. Strange what a year away from bases will do to you. What an exhilarating afternoon it was, surrounded by all of those planes. Even though I didn't actually get to fly, I almost felt as free as when I'm up in the air - nothing but sun-drenched clouds above and vast landscapes below. As we were walking around the hangar, Mom said something that had never struck me before: we have all of these beautiful planes as a result of mankind's strife. She's right - the very planes I was enjoying were created with war in mind, and designed to kill large amounts of people. I've been reading WWII accounts for weeks and visualizing the action and consequences of man's pride in my mind, yet I failed to equate the aircraft in front of me to the very instruments used in these books. I realized that the thing which meant 'freedom' to me was death to others. Strange thing, Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't want their plane to be used for war but for every man's enjoyment, and they mentioned this to the leaders who wished to buy the Wright Flyer for this purpose. While these events are horrifying and saddening, it is a comfort to know that God works all for His purpose and makes it right in the end. What man twists for his own goals, God can turn around and use for good. I can see this also in the airplanes we admired today - God was able to take these horrible events and these instruments of war and bring peace once again to the suffering. And now, when we look at the planes, we can admire the gifts God has allowed men to create and to fly, and we can bless Him for this freedom.