After 13 years as a GA pilot, I'm finally on the cusp of something I'd only dreamed of doing. Next week, I leave to join a regional airline. It still doesn't feel real. I think part of it is because I interviewed and got the job offer over 6 months ago already - so for half a year it's just been an idea.
The other reason it doesn't feel real is because I never thought I'd have a serious shot at being an airline pilot. Since I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian and keep the biblical Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, it's pretty tough to work in an industry that runs 24/7. But being able to keep the Sabbath as an airline pilot is not entirely out of the realm of possibility, as my friend found out. He gave it a shot, and God opened the doors for him. So, with the airline industry in the state of severe pilot shortage that that it's in right now, I figured now is the best time to take the plunge and see if God wants to open those doors for me too.
There will be several hurdles to get through, with the most challenging ones probably occurring during training. Then it will be on to reserve, junior line-holder, and then by about six months in, my seniority should have developed to the point where I'm able to consistently get the days off that I bid for. Until then, it will be a lot of praying and a lot of trading. I think the last time I experienced this much uncertainty was when my family and I left the U.S. 18 years ago and came face-to-face with the real possibility that we wouldn't be able to go back home. God worked a miracle for us, and that's another special story for another time. That was a family thing, though. I'm ready to see God work some miracles for me personally now.
Why am I taking this risk? I've asked myself that question quite a few times over the past half year. It basically boils down to the passion for flying God has given me, the skill set He helped me acquire, and the desire to use those for Him. I believe God gives us passions for a reason and that reason is for us to use them in His service. I believe that the airline industry needs committed Adventist Christians in it who can be a blessing, just as much as any other part of the world does. Of course, I could still discover the airlines are not the place for me. Some things you only find out when you try. Some things are perhaps meant to be for a short season, before God turns the page to a new chapter. Either way, I'm looking forward to finding out what God has in store. If He opens up the doors, it's going to be really obvious, and it's going to be really neat to know I'm right in the place where He wants me to be. And so far, the doors have been cracking open ever so slightly. It's going to be an interesting journey.
"With nations, with families, and with individuals, He has often permitted matters to come to a crisis that His interference might become marked." - Christ's Object Lesson, p. 178.
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