Today is Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005; Karen's Korner #507
When we boarded the airplane to fly home from New Zealand to Los Angeles, the flight attendants did the normal drill of safety procedures. Not long after, the pilot came on the intercom with more flight information, ".......flight a bit more than 11 hours.....should be a relatively easy flight.....might be some turbulence a bit ahead.........."
About an hour into the flight, it felt like we hit something in mid-air. It was a jolt big enough to cause my heart to pick up its normal pace! And the jostling continued. Fasten seat belt lights came back on. No flight attendants were running up and down the aisles. I am sure frequent flyers have experienced more of a bouncy ride, but I can't recall that I have!
Not more than a couple of minutes later, the pilot came back on the sound system with the news. The turbulence was going to continue. He had attempted to climb higher to go over the top of it, but his new course wasn't going to help. "It will take about 15 minutes to get through it," he said. "Just bear with us!"
I had two choices: I could pay attention to what I was experiencing!! Physically; a heart that was beating a bit above normal, seat belts in place, not able to walk up and down the aisles of the plane, and something that felt like a carnival ride for novices. Maybe we weren't going to make it back!
Or I could listen to somebody who has done lots of flying, in contact with others on the ground, and reading lots of instruments and gauges in front of him.
I had to pick one!
I chose the guy with the experience who was looking out for all of us and knew what he was doing!
As I was experiencing the rougher ride, I thought about God and how He is the pilot of all of our lifes' planes. Sometimes we fly along with relative calm; other times we hit some turbulence. As the pilot, He knows the destination and any problems which are coming ahead for us. His Words tell us not to be afraid and to trust Him. He has everything under control. Sometimes He can help us rise to a new height and fly over a difficult situation. Other times we have to fly through it; it might feel rough but He knows that there is a smoother flight ahead for us!
And best of all, He always takes us safely back home!!
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