On board when I was a Baby:
Most people don’t know what the pilots’ quarters look like, because now they’re sealed off from passengers’ cabins. Did you know that a long time ago—I’m talking 1960; I don’t know what it’s like now—there was a sleeping area back there so that for overnight flights, the pilot and co-pilot could take turns resting while they set their side of the instrument panel on automatic flight control?
How do I know? My mother told me about a flight when I was a year old, and my sisters were two years old and only a few months old. A helpful flight crew, seeing my parents’ situation, gave them the pilots’ bunk cubbyhole. So my folks were able to stretch out their legs, and we were able to crawl onto their laps, nurse, or sleep all the way across the Pacific. And we had booked economy!
He cares for me.
On board as a Youth:
Does God see our problems? Yes, He sees, but let’s get back to the plane.
One morning, when I awoke—I’d been asleep on board—and looked out the plane window, it was dark. Just plain black. But we were flying into the morning, so gradually, it got brighter, and the tops of the clouds could be seen, slightly lighter gray than the surrounding ash. Then the blues came, then pretty pinks, and then all the light! Wait…what was that below? In the white billowy stuff was a teeny tiny, squarish opening of whispy threads. I kept looking hard at it, and after a while realized what it was: a tempest! Torrents of wind and rain engulfed the ship down there. Hm; I thought to myself. Fiascos that terrify human navigators are no bigger than postage stamps to Him Who rides the stormy skies and manages the seas!
He cares for me.
On board as an Adult:
Have you heard the illustration of the person “cured” of his terrible headache when his friend stepped on his foot? He was so busy thinking of the pain in his foot, he completely forgot about the pressure in his head.
Several years ago, just before getting on the plane, a terrible misunderstanding was mentioned, and during that flight, I was trying to read scripture and wrestling with God about it. The frustrating part was that our plane was flying over a minor typhoon, and some of the trip was so rough, even flight crew had to get strapped into their seats. The passengers seated to my side or across the aisle were sweating in their seats, but my mind was too full of my problem to be terrified, and the jostling upset me more that I couldn't read what I really needed.
I’m usually a fraidy cat big time when it comes to air turbulence, but this time, my mind was so full of another heart pain, it had no time to think about it! I guess God’s way of giving us the help we need is 100% effective. Perhaps sometimes in wisdom He even brings pain into our lives that actually weakens the blows of other fears!
This awesome God cares for me.
