The Waypoints and Benchmarks in My Life

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Today’s Blog Post


The Waypoints and Benchmarks in My Life

A long time ago I experienced Waypoints and Benchmarks.

My father taught me the value of a Waypoint as he spread out his air navigation maps when flying his small aircraft. He showed me how the invisible lines drawn on that intricate map would help us keep safe with reference to where we are in our flight above the ground.

Dad flew an aircraft above Saskatchewan’s southern, vast fields of grain below. It was flat and far. Occasional hills or knolls would appear on the horizon but for the most part it was hard to tell where you were.

But add to that the clouds that came into play at times – and you would not be able to see the ground below. Or worse yet – if you were in the clouds for some time and popped out below or from the clouds – where were you in relationship to the ground below? How far away was the airport that you needed to land at to get more fuel?

Waypoints were crucial to the pilot.

Across our country at various points there are Beacons that radiate out signals at specific coordinates. Think of a huge wheel and the spokes in that wheel pointing out from the hub to understand. The spokes from the beacon were specific radio waves that pointed in one direction – perhaps 360 of these around that Beacon.

Now should the Beacon go out – you could be in trouble.

Wikipedia says this about the Waypoint…
In the modern world, waypoints are increasingly abstract, often having no obvious relationship to any distinctive features of the real world. These waypoints are used to help define invisible routing paths for navigation. For example, artificial airways—“highways in the sky” created specifically for purposes of air navigation—often have no clear connection to features of the real world, and consist only of a series of abstract waypoints in the sky through which pilots navigate; these airways are designed to facilitate air traffic control and routing of traffic between heavily traveled locations, and do not reference natural terrain features. Abstract waypoints of this kind have been made practical by modern navigation technologies, such as land-based radio beacons and the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS).

Benchmark…
I discovered the value of a Benchmark when working at my first real job with Department of Highways in Saskatchewan. Part of that early job was to be the Surveyor’s Rod Man. I would hold the rod at specific points and then the surveyor would look toward the rod with his transit.

My job was to climb over rocks, through bushes and brambles to find the Benchmark. Early surveyors had marked a spot that would not change – as a reference mark for future surveys or to use when others following you wanted to know which reference point you had started from.

Often this mark was an iron pin driven into a large rock. The iron pin had a flat head with the surveyor’s mark on it. This flat head became the “bench” for the Rod Man’s rod to rest on. It was highly unlikely that the Benchmark was removed because the rock was simply too big.

But the Benchmark could be covered up with junk, with weeds, with sticks and stones and even other rocks. I remember looking for a long time in some situations with the mosquitoes buzzing around my neck while I looked for the lost Benchmark.

If you lose your reference points – either the Waypoint or Benchmark you will feel lost – alone and in perhaps great danger.

Wikipedia says of the Benchmark…
The term benchmark originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made, into which an angle-iron could be placed to bracket ("bench") a leveling rod, thus ensuring that the levelling rod can be repositioned in exactly the same place in the future

Last Sunday was difficult for our congregation. No one knew what was taking place except for a handful of leaders along with our Pastor Tim.

Something was not right when we all came into the sanctuary of the church. The normal jovial talking and sharing was not there. Someone else other than our Pastor opened the service – doing a very good job of it – but we did not have the normal order we were all used to.

It wasn’t long into the service before it became shockingly evident that things were not ever going to be the same again. It was announced that Pastor Tim had resigned as Pastor of our church for personal reasons.

Pastor Tim has been at our church for one year and has done a super job of refocusing our group.

BUT – a pastor is like a Waypoint or a Benchmark. We have connected with him and now that he leaves – where are the reference points. We could get lost… or maybe are lost and need to find our way.

How do I know this happens? I HAVE BEEN a pastor… in fact in the role that Tim has been serving. I know better than anyone what is required in this situation.

I have found one small thing out as well. It goes back to the ride in the small aircraft with my Dad or with some of his friends. Dad… I trusted and understood that he knew what he was doing. BUT – One of my dad’s friends was also a pilot but seldom flew with the use of that BIG Beacon down below… he used the elevators on the rail lines to get to where he was going.

I remember the conversation as I sat in the back seat of the small aircraft zooming over that flat land below. When the pilot said – “That’s funny… I could have sworn that town had an elevator before… I wonder where it went?”

The problem with following a rail line is that folk down below do take the elevators down – or the name wears off… or whatever. And when that happens, YOU ARE LOST.

Yes we landed safely an hour or so later – before the fuel ran out. We went to the next town down below… which was three towns away from where he thought we were – doubled back and turned north before the city we were heading for came on to the horizon.
Our church will eventually find another new pastor. Someone will come to offer the new Waypoint or help find the Benchmark in our lives.

I will not fly in small aircraft again with men that don’t know how to read maps or use Beacons.

I am not particularly interested in mosquito infected swamps and Benchmarks any more either.

These things I know. On Saturday we had a wonderful day at the Buckhorn Heritage Day. One Monday it was a great day. Sunday was a bit of a tough day… a little lost was my feeling. Kind of like when we popped out of the cloud and the pilot didn’t know where we were. Yikes.

Oh Boy!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

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Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waypoint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmark