Different Perspectives

When I formally studied construction many years ago, I took a number of courses to learn how to draw and read architectural blueprints. One thing they taught us early on was how important it was to get "the big picture" before you worked on the details. In order to do this, we started by making some preliminary drawings which had a number of different perspectives. There were views from front, rear, right and left sides. Often the early drawings also included a proposed "footprint" which showed the general size and shape of the building from "above." From these perspectives, a person could begin to get an idea of what some of the details for the building might eventually work out to be, as well as some of the processes involved to get to the final product.

Most of my "long distance" traveling (anything over a day's drive) was done by airplane. I've gotten pretty used to airports and moving between cities from 35,000 feet. This latest trip is different. Because I didn't decide to go to New Orleans until early last week, airfares were out of the question. Also, there wasn't a real "time crunch" for me to arrive. Arriving on Sunday or Monday was fine with Mark. So, I opted to take the train.

As I write this blog on Sunday evening from Union Station in Chicago, I can tell already that this was a good decision. For one thing, going by train is giving me some "space between the structures" that compose my life. But, more importantly, I am recognizing that traveling by train is giving me a very different perspective on life, people and ministry. What God is showing me is that when you fly and see the world from 35,000 feet, everything is a great distance away and looks pretty nice. Even when you travel by car, especially on interstate highways, things still look pretty nice. But, when you travel by train, you get to see the "backside of the tracks," especially in some of the large cities.

Today and tomorrow I am traveling on Amtrak trains, "Empire Builder" and "The City of New Orleans" … remember the song!? This is the real world. This is where people live. The places where trains go aren't always in the best of condition, and sometimes, the people's lives who live in those areas aren't always in the best condition either. To me, that's a good thing to get a perspective on.

I think we often live our lives from 35,000 feet. We don't enter into, engage, and even enjoy the perspective that traveling by train is giving me. Just like the blueprints that I learned to draw and read, the "view from above" isn't enough. You need "ground level perspectives" in order to effectively "build lives." The train is helping me regain some perspective that I haven't had in a while and I'm looking forward to more. Stay tuned.