Strengthening Ties and Air Shows

Date Night in our household unfolds on Fridays, although one of us tries to extend it into one big Date Day. “Honey, do you want to walk down to the Old Mill and get a chai latte this morning?” “Hey, does a hike sound good this afternoon?” “Where are we having dinner this evening?” See how that works.

Well, Hubby beat me to it this time: “You wanna go to the air show?”

2025 Air Show of the Cascades in Madras

Me: “Yes!” And so I packed up our cute little adventure van in record time.

The annual event at the Madras, Oregon airfield opened at 1:00pm Friday afternoon, and our overnight date extended through Saturday morning. Part air show, part camping, part state fair (no, we didn’t eat the fried Oreos), part July Fourth, and part food truck lot with three different venues of live music through the afternoon and into the evening.

We set up our camping spot in a field of hay stubble with 40 other glampers and tent campers before checking out the showgrounds. Airplanes on display. An exhibit of old cars and trucks. The Aero L-39 Albatros jets to be flown by the aerobatics team at dusk.

There were people driving or riding in a hot car (think: Corvette, Lamborghini, Porsche)—roaring down the runway at speeds hovering around 200 mph.

Later—because apparently the owners of the hot cars and the jet pilots had trashed talk each other in the break room—an unrehearsed race was set into motion. Car engine against jet engine. Even though the hot cars got a head start every time (sort of), the jet came out of the distance roaring over the top of the vehicle and driver at around 450 mph. No contest.

The evening aerobatics show was incredible, featuring the Patriots Aerobatics team out of Canada, followed by a robust display of fireworks.

This is not an advertisement for the Madras Air Show—“Get your tickets early for 2026!”

This is simply to say that relationships are super important to our Creator. He designed us for relationship with him. He authored our beautiful love stories. He crafted the family unit. He created us to need each other. He gave us best friends and difficult people (because God uses difficult people to point out what he wants to change in us).

So, if relationships are important, then maybe we could build on them—whether they’re new connections, interactions that are sagging, or bonds that are strong and healthy.

And the best way to build on them is by spending time together, creating fun and making memories together, lingering long in conversation over a chai latte together, attending an air show together (together being the operative word).

Which reminds me of this verse the Apostle Paul wrote to new believers in ancient Thessalonica:

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Whether building a relationship from the ground up, or adding on to what you already have, or doing a total remodel, who would you like to spend some intentional time with this week—spouse, family member, friend, acquaintance?

Encouraging and building each other up can be done over the phone or via text, but it’s so much more effective in person. And the thing is, you don’t need a blueprint. Just reach out. Take a walk together. Talk and listen well. Laugh and plan and dream together. Strengthen the ties.

Going forward, I’m thinking it will be challenging to top our Friday-afternoon-through-Saturday-morning air show date. But it will be fun trying.