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CAVU

By January 17, 2013August 30th, 2022Devotional

As you may have heard me say before, when I am out on the road, I watch many tv programs that I just don’t see at home. Partially, that’s because Janet has a pretty set schedule and to be honest about it, most of the recording time is already spoken for and I have gotten out of the habit of watching live TV. But there’s a second reason – I am just so slammed with work that I don’t have TV watching as a high priority in my schedule.

But when I am on the road, I try to get back to the hotel room and chill out in front of the screen, usually finding stuff on the Discovery or History channels. So, while I was in Dallas earlier this week, I went through my normal ritual and started surfing. I settled on some program in the background and apparently fell asleep, leaving the TV on all night. I woke up Tuesday morning to a fascinating program on the life of President George Bush (#41).

It was a really good program – it wasn’t from the Biography series but it was certainly biographical in nature. It went into great detail about his life in Congress, his rise to Vice-President and finally his successful bid for President – serving one term before he lost to Bill Clinton as a result of Ross Perot dividing the Republican vote. There were sections on his travels to China and around the world, as well as his service in some of the other more obscure areas of government throughout his career.

But clearly woven through the program were snippets of his life with his wife, Barbara, their children and grandchildren. Quite a bit of time was devoted to his life in Kennebunkport, ME – a little town along the Atlantic Ocean that is beautiful and quaint. Janet and I have been there – in fact, we have seen the Bush compound from the street.

About 20 years ago, the family home was destroyed by a large storm that pretty much totally demolished it. But George has grown up on that property his whole life and he wasn’t about to be denied. So the whole compound was rebuilt on the site of the original. You could just see his love of the water, the homestead, the memories it evoked from his childhood and all the other things that brought him peace when he was in Kennebunkport. The cameras were even allowed into his fishing shack where pictures, mementos and tackle all the way back to his childhood were displayed.

One of the things that he still likes to do is go out on the water and fish. In fact, he claims that he is a lifelong fisherman. And judging by some of the mounted specimens in his boat house, I don’t doubt it. But what really impacted me about the whole program was the way the President spoke about his love of family and their home. It is the place that draws all the members of the family together. Kind of the center of their earthly universe. And that’s saying quite a bit when you consider that he has travelled throughout the entire world and served in arguably the most important and difficult job on the planet. Yet, his heart is peaceful on Walker Point, site of their compound.

And it is beautiful, surrounded by water on three sides and jutting out into the Atlantic, almost defiantly so. Near the end of the program, the film crew taped the President with his family, making some remarks about an award he had received. At the end of his remarks, he invited the reporters and film crew to go to the end of the point and see the view from there. He said that it was quite remarkable. And there, at the end of the point, on a large boulder, a plaque was mounted with the letters CAVU.

Of course, everyone was curious about the meaning of the word. The President indicated that the letters stood for the dreams of every naval aviator before they started each mission. The acronym meant “Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.” Get it? CAVU… It is a reference to his old flying days in the Armed Forces. And that’s the way he feels at Walker Point – ceiling and visibility unlimited. Isn’t that a grand thought? Because regardless of what was happening in the rest of his life, when Bush is at home on the point, he doesn’t have any limitations.

It occurs to me that as Christ followers, we have the same thing – CAVU. We have a direct pipeline to heaven – no ceiling – nothing stands in our way and we have all eternity in front of us – unlimited visibility – forever. It struck me as I was watching that program that we can have everything the President has, and more…

The verse for this evening is a reflection of the expanse of God’s creation. We are told, in Neh. 9:6, “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” Wow. I can just imagine reciting this verse next to that plaque. CAVU, in all it’s magnificent glory…

My encouragement this evening is that the Lord has given you unlimited sight and direct access to Him. You don’t need an intermediary and you don’t have anything standing in your way. A great view, directly connected to the God of the universe. My prayer is that you will remember the things that God created for us. And that you will take advantage of the situation that you have. No matter what the issue, God is right next to you, and He is never out of your reach. Because just like you have direct access to Him, He has CAVU as well – ceiling and visibility unlimited. He can do anything… Have a great day in The Lord, grace and peace…

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