Our two-week vacation on Sanibel Island in Florida was wonderful—just the break I needed after finishing my latest novel and before starting the research process for the next. I sat in the departure lounge in the Fort Myers Airport with my husband on Saturday, thinking about all of the things I needed to do when I got home, including writing this blog. The inbound flight arrived, but we were told there would be a delay before we could board due to a mechanical issue. One hour stretched into two. I tried not to grow nervous as I watched the mechanics “tinkering” with something on the wing of our plane. And I was greatly relieved when the airline finally announced that we would be moving to a new gate to board a different plane.
At last we lifted off. But an hour into the flight, I happened to glance out the window in time to see our airplane make a giant U-turn in the sky. The flight attendants, who had just begun serving snacks and beverages, abruptly steered their carts back to the galley. Then the announcement came: “Ladies and gentlemen, the pilot has just informed us that we need to make an emergency landing due to a mechanical problem. We should be on the ground in Orlando, Florida in about 30 minutes.”
No one wants to hear news like that when they’re ten-thousand feet above the earth! As panic set in, I realized that I was utterly helpless to control any aspect of my life or my future. All I could do was pray—and of course, I did. Fervently! Everyone else must have been doing the same thing because the plane became eerily quiet. The next thirty minutes seemed like an eternity.
The book I happened to bring along to read on that flight was “Be Still My Soul” by Elisabeth Elliot. Her words took on new meaning as the stricken plane descended. “We have to come to Him in humility, acknowledging our helplessness and our utter dependence on Him. … If we have given our lives to Him, we are able to accept everything that happens to us as from His hands.” We have a savior we can trust, Elliot says. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive it as the will of our all-loving God.
Most days, I go about my life with the illusion that I’m in control. I can decide where and when I’ll go on vacation; which airline I’ll fly with; how my novels will end, and which book topic I’ll write about next. But my helplessness on that airplane reminded me that my ability to control things goes only so far. Ultimately, my life doesn’t belong to me, but to God, who has redeemed it through His Son. If I’ve given my life to Him, then He is in control, not me. And I’m helpless to save myself spiritually, as well. If we crashed and my life ended, none of my “good deeds” would have any merit at all. “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.”
Of course, we landed safely or you wouldn’t be reading this blog. We got off the broken plane and were loaded onto a third aircraft an hour later. I confess that my knees felt very wobbly as I boarded. The sick, churning feeling in my stomach grew worse. “The third time’s the charm,” our flight attendant said cheerfully as we took our seats. Once again, I would be vulnerable and helpless, thousands of feet above the earth, for another two-and-a-half hours. And yet, in a strange way, I’m grateful for the reminder of God’s power and my own helplessness. The new year is certain to bring many changes and challenges that I can do nothing about. There will be many more times when I’ll feel panicked and afraid and helpless. But as Elisabeth Elliot says, we do have control over one thing: “You can choose to trust His faithfulness in every detail of your life.”
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3)
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Wow! What an experience, Lynn. So thankful the third time WAS a “charm” but also thankful for this great reminder that He has us in the palm of His hand and when we belong to Him, not being in control of our own lives is a VERY good thing! Glad you’re home safe and sound!
Thanks, Deb. I’m thankful too!
A few months ago I had one dream, in which I with my parents and younger sister fell off a cliff ( in our car ). I still remember the moment of the falling. I didn´ t shout, I was absolutely silent and stiff and all my thoughts were with God. I shouldn´ t think about this dream without emotions and questions : What I will do when I will be really on the edge of life and heaven?
I am glad you are alive and healthy.
God will hold us in His hand even when it feels as though we are falling, Blanka. He will never leave us or forsake us.
I too was on a plane that had to turn back. because of a problem with one of the tires. We found out later that the tire was just about ready to blow out. If it had, while we were in the air, well, you know how I felt, also.
Oh yes! The truth is, we are always helpless but God has us in the palm of His hand.
My husband and I were flying into Miami last summer and about to touch down, when our plane suddenly accelerated and began climbing instead. They’d aborted the landing because something in the cockpit was signaling that the landing gear wasn’t as it should be. We circled around and landed without any problems on a side runway where our plane was met with a flotilla of emergency vehicles. Yikes!
p.s. The good news for those of us who are nervous flyers…. A) God’s in control! B) Things can go wrong with an airplane and (almost all the time when that happens) the passengers still exit without a scratch.
What a wonderful post, Lynn. A good reminder that we are not in control. I don’t like flying but once I’m in the air I’m usually okay. But I have to focus on God’s control and not mine to keep me from screaming out “Hey, there is nothing but air down there!’
I’m thankful you made it home! Glad you had a nice rest in Florida! I think God was in the details with the book you happened to have with you, too. Amen to that!
Super reminder Lynn! Funny how often we think we are in control of our life. Thank you for this reality check.