Barksdale Air Show and God

Capitan Keegan Williamson, USAF ATC Instructor Pilot

Keegan, Bethany and I stepped off the bus onto the hot tarmac at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana this past weekend. Our senses were assaulted first and we all commented on the smell of JP4 (jet fuel) that washed over us as we left the cool air-conditioned bus. The high pitched whine of jet engines winding up to speed was the first sound we heard, and then we saw all the people and planes in front of us. There were many young men and women walking through crowd, guarding aircraft, helping with crowd control, answering a thousand questions, and enjoying the show with their families just we were doing. We were at the annual Barksdale Air Show with the star attraction Blue Angels to perform. Keegan and I drove from Mesquite and met Bethany who was in Bossier City visiting with her in-laws and were so excited to be at the base after years of being unable to attend an air show. We stayed for the day and enjoyed all the incredible flying feats and were awed by the technology that military might requires today. Flags flew everywhere and the young men and women in uniform reminded us of a war ongoing now in Iraq and of other wars fought in previous times. We were humbled as the missing man formation flew by and reminded us of those who gave their lives for our freedom.

It was a grand day…. but it held something else for Keegan and me. The planes, especially the T-37 (commonly know as the tweet) and all the men in flight suits took us back to a time in the late 70’s when Keegan was a gifted pilot and instructor pilot headed for a great career in the Air Force. We both wondered what our lives would be like now if he had continued in that career path. God could have used him in the service just like He does so many others, but that was not what He asked of Keegan. Driving home alone after the show we both reminisced about those years and how good they were, but neither of us expressed any regrets about the calling God gave us to change directions and leave the Air Force. The 30 plus years since have been wonderful and full of God’s grace and mercy, and God has shown us that He could give us security, provision, travel, excitement, and a communal family that was and is every bit as good or better than the Air Force could have provided. Now in the years ahead we are going to trust Him for the retirement benefits as well J It WAS a grand day and as much as we enjoyed the air show, we returned home thankful that it is God who is our commander-in-chief.

Keegan and the Tweet