The Hidden Cost of Not Asking

Every day, my son talks about his dream of one day becoming a pilot. When you listen to him talk, it sounds inevitable. As if it's a foregone conclusion.

But it wasn't always like that.

About a year ago, we were flying to see my parents in NJ and I encouraged him to ask the flight attendant if he could go in the cockpit.

He agreed to do it despite clearly being nervous as hr stumbled through the ask. But he did it.

And she said yes.

Since that moment, every time we fly, we end up in the cockpit. He doesn't even wait for me to ask the flight attendant. He just boldly presents his case.

As soon as he is in the chair he starts peppering the pilots with questions about the controls and pretends with his whole heart that he's flying.

Sitting in that seat, visualizing himself as captain of a major airline, and feeling the controls give him an unshakable confidence that this is what God made him for.

Every time I watch him do this and watch his confidence grow, I'm reminded of the true cost of not asking for what we're drawn to in life.

Simply asking the question, whether it's granted or not, can open an entirely new world for you.

St. Ignatius is one of the great spiritual masters of discernment and he often encouraged people to visualize possible outcomes as a test to see how God moves through the possibilities.

Because...

Not asking can leave you in the dark.

It can keep a holy confidence locked within you.

It blocks grace from moving within you.

And it can lead to settling for a life far below that which you are called to.

So ask.

Ask often.

And ask boldly.

You never know what a yes might unlock.