17 December

Today's the day when in 1903 the first aeroplane flight was made. Orville Wright piloted the inaugural flight of the self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft which he and his brother Wilbur had built near Kitty Hawk in North carolina. The plane stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered a distance of 120 feet. (To those of us who have no taste for airline food and long-haul boredom, that sounds like an ideal length for a flight!)

For many years people had dreamed of powered flight but it had always seemed an impossible dream. The Wright brothers showed that it was possible, that people really could fly.

Sometimes it's not an aeroplane flight we need to lift us up. We need someone to lift our soul. Tiredness, weakness, sorrow and regret can make us feel spiritually grounded. But through Isaiah God gives this great promise to everyone who wants to soar with him:

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no-one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.