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| Invention and Prayer |
Rev. Andrew Paton |
"I still believe man can fly, but it won't be in my life time" was what the pastor's son wrote in his diary. The men were returning after a discouraging time on the beach where they were experimenting.
Picture their arrival home: the clergyman embraced his dispirited boys and they recounted the tale of another huge waste of money. They'd spent their vacation testing gliders at the Atlantic Ocean for a few years running, providing much mirth for the observing locals who discussed their antics.
A little helicopter-like top was the gift from their dad that sparked an interest in flying. He fostered their aspiration.
The minister recalled when the boys first read the theories of a brave German inventor. He constructed complicated flying contraptions in which he would glide a few yards. News that his passion had also been the end of him hadn't deterred their enthusiasm.
But now they were discouraged. Beaten by failure.
I understand that pastor. I raised two boys who got fired up about aviation. One day after a chapel service for a national carrier the supervisor showed me a pile of bald aircraft tires. I was shocked at how expensive they were and even more so by the knowledge that they had only been used a few times.
I informed my sons that the way to make money from the airline industry was to invent a way that the tires could rotate at speed just before touch down. It's the skid from stationary to landing speed that eats up the rubber. After many ideas were exchanged we dropped the project but one of the boys went on to become an engineer.
Do you have a dream that has stirred your spirit? Perhaps you too have tried and failed. There might be one of those "not in my lifetime" entries in your diary too. The Bible says "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Or as secular wisdom paraphrases that: "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well." One preacher quipped: "Aim high its no harder on the gun!"
Pastor Milton's boys from Dayton, Ohio found the funds and the courage for another attempt. Their bicycle shop was the venue for more trial and error. In 1994 I visited the spot where Orville and older brother Wilbur nursed the dream of inventing a flying machine. It soaked up years and money but they kept returning to the blustery beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
The year of victory came! A coin toss decided who would risk life & limb. The engine coughed & roared. Wilbur stalled on take off necessitating repairs. 3 days later Orville made man's first 12 second powered flight. He lifted off from a makeshift wooden track in the sand near Roanoke Sound.
The boys were given a special dollar by the parson and he got his money's worth! The telegram he paid for commenced with the word
"successful."
It was December 17, 1903.
Historians should dwell on how much the three men prayed about the project. You can be sure there was thanksgiving on their knees that night. Those who pray know how it enlarges and sustains your vision of possibilities. Try it.
Here's good advice: "You are coming to a King, so large petitions with you bring, because His grace and power are such that none can ask too much."
The American Air Force museum is at Dayton. Those sleek birds of 10 decades owe their origin to dreams and determination. These are creative qualities breathed into humanity by our Creator. You act in His image when you pursue a noble idea.
Combine prayer with an adventurous spirit. The fruit of that union in you may yet bless the world.
