28 Days: Day 17, 100 Feet Away

Several days ago, I saw the headline pictured above.

I didn’t click on the article for days.

But the headline kept running in a loop in my head.

Kobe Bryant’s helicopter was 100 feet from clear skies.

If the pilot had only known, and not turned or climbed or descended or whatever happened in those last few heartbreaking moments, he could have kept course for 100 more feet.

The story of so many precious people lost so unexpectedly was deeply saddening for all of us who heard.

But it feels like there has been a lot of loss lately.

Loss of people without any name recognition but just as deeply gut-wrenching.

And others, who feel on the brink of leaving whatever fog bank they are trapped in. Maybe it’s their life but maybe it’s their marriage or their family or their job or who knows what.

In the middle of that muddle, you can’t see clear skies 100 feet away.

It’s not always so close. Of course not.

But in the middle of whatever is hard, you can’t see the other side. The sun. The clearing. The hope. The opportunity. The reprieve.

Hang in there. Hold on. Please. You could be 100 feet from clear skies. And if it’s not 100 feet, there will be a clearing.

Because of your father’s God, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below…
Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Genesis 49