“This is your captain in the flight deck and we’ve just reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. We have some rough air up ahead so I’m going to keep the fasten seat belt light on until we get through this little bit of turbulence.”
I check my seat belt and it’s fastened – not pulled in too tight, though. I look left and right, eyeing my fellow passengers, looking to spot the white-knuckled rookie travelers as we approach the coming bumpy air. But everyone looks ahead, stone faced and nonchalant, as if they fly through the rough stuff all the time.
I mimic that same look. "No Big Deal."
The first bump hits. "Not too bad."
Then a second bump, a third, and then a fourth – they’re coming together faster. The plane hits some kind of air pocket and dips a few hundred feet and I feel weightless. We’re being tossed around like a cheap toy, shimmying and buckling with each hard bounce.
"Okay, now it’s no fun."
I start praying to God in a stream-of-consciousness-please-save-me-forgive-me-for-my-sins-take-care-of-my-family-don't-let-me-suffer-kind of style.
And then just like that, it stops. Smooth air.
I know that turbulence is in my future, somewhere out there in the "friendly skies." It will come when everything seems fine. No matter how well I prepare, it will make me woozy and sick, disoriented and even a little crazy. I'll lose my faith. I'll be full of fear because I'm powerless and subject to the unknown.
In today’s chaotic times, we face turbulence like we’ve never seen in our lifetimes and most of us recognize that this uncertainty will continue into the future. So, now, more than ever, we need to reach out for God’s steady grip and limitless love for He will not forsake us.
And just like that, we'll realize that it's smooth flying again. He's got it under control.
Still, I'm asking myself. How can I prepare? You can share you thoughts here.
4 comments so far - add yours here:
That's a good question, David. How can I prepare?
For me it comes down to handing it all over to Him. It's those corners of my life that I think I have under control, I'm doing just fine, thank you, God, don't need Your light shining here--that's where I always hit the bumpy stuff.
And then it's something like the corner of the metal patio table that didn't get painted: the rust starts there and eats through everything.
I love your description of the feeling of flying through turbulence. You really nailed it.
And BTW, it looks like you and I were kind of riffing on the same theme in today's posts.
I think you have to live your life like you're prepared.
Once, on a relatively small plane flying into Durango, Colorado (note the state!), the plane hit an air pocket, and dropped about 300 feet, finding air again with a big pow. Stuff was flying all over the place - bags, papers, the coffee pot in the galley (I did hold on to the book I was reading, though). People grabbed for the sickness bags like crazy, and I felt lunch trying to make a reappearance. So I focused on my hands and talked myself out of throwing up.
As we landed, the thought occurred to me -- that could have been it. And was I ready?
A Randy Travis song croons, "Find the Lord before you need Him." I'm sure many people would apply that to evangelism, admonishing "GET SAVED BEFORE YOU FACE HELL AND JUDGMENT!"
But I think we all need to make a daily practice of dependence on God. As emergency workers and military personnel know, you train and practice regularly before your skills face life and death situations.
You can't wait for the bad times to start learning where your knees are.
Thanks for your wonderful thoughts, insights and links! I think you did contribute to opening up the public conversation on culture. Sorry to see the site go.
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