Article December 3, 1990 Issue

A time to solo

No matter how much we may enjoy taking lessons, sooner or later each of us has to make a solo flight. This isn't just true for flying—it is also true for prayer.

Sam L. Hornbeak

I'll never forget my first solo flight. The anticipation. The wondering: "Am I really ready?" The pure joy of seeing the ground drop away as I pointed the nose of the plane toward a point above the horizon. And then, the wonderful sense of freedom and release as I realized I could depend on the small plane and on the knowledge I had gained through the initial phase of flight training.

At the time, I thought, "There will never be another moment quite like this." But, looking back, I must acknowledge that I had been forced to solo in a much more meaningful and longer-lasting way some twelve or thirteen years prior to my solo airplane flight.

I was about eight or nine. I had been eagerly attending the Christian Science Sunday School, where I was learning about God and Christ Jesus and being taught basic truths about myself as the cared-for and dearly loved child of God. I loved what I was learning, and I loved being able to turn to my mother or my grandmother, who was a Christian Science practitioner, whenever I was troubled or sick.

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