“Soaring on wings through the starlit skies, leaving behind all the trouble and strife…”

The plane nosed upward, and suddenly I was in the air for the first time in my life!

After several seconds, my co teacher asked me when I plan to release the armrest on my seat…

So I rather sheepishly settled in to enjoy the trip. As if clutching my seat with both hands was going to ensure a safe landing this evening!

Isn’t that totally me in life, though? I’ve boarded this flight which is my lifetime, and I’m flying with “the Narrow Way” to the sunset at the end of the journey. Jesus is the pilot, and He can be trusted in that role.

I was all excited to “take off” when I gave my heart to God – to see what He was going to do in my life.

But then, when the speed or the angle feels extreme to me, I panic and hold on to anything I can, fighting for a semblance of control.

But I realized on that flight, as in real life… you gotta let go and trust the Pilot. Only then can you relax enough to enjoy the view. Even if you don’t see the outcome of your journey yet.

That flight was on Saturday. I was looking forward to flying back home today, and experiencing that “higher view” (see my last post) again.

Instead, we stood and watched our plane taxi away without us.

• Well. •

Let’s just say, that was not my best moment. We prayed in desperation, but God chose not to answer our plea to fly home this evening. We had to surrender that.

And I didn’t know how I could handle staying on the ground when everything in my soul wanted to re-experience the peace that came with the higher view. Somehow, it had been so easy to trust God when I was in the sky, realizing His greatness.

But soon, we saw God working. Suddenly, everything was coming back together again that had fallen apart.

We got another flight – for the next morning. We found a hotel room close by. And I nearly wept for joy at the sound of the helpful clerk on the other end of the line as she said that yes, they offer a free shuttle service… and we would be picked up in a couple of minutes!

I have never before sang “Hallelu, Hallellu, Praise Ye The Lord” with as much vigor as we did in that airport elevator after I hung up the phone.

We arrived at our hotel, an intense feeling of relief melting all the earlier tension away. I nearly floated down the hallway to our room!

Finally, we were ready to talk about what we had just come through. And began noticing blessings in the whole experience. God was looking out for us in so many ways. The hotel restaurant thankfully was open late, because as soon  as our tension faded, we realized how hungry we were.

We went for supper and discovered they offered gluten free buns. Suddenly the menu had so many options. Praise God!

Our water glasses arrived. With plastic straws! Our patience would have struggled to deal with soggy paper straws by then. Suddenly, the stress turned into hysterical laughter.

So we couldn’t fly home… but we got an extra night in a nice hotel. And I am thankful for gluten free buns, plastic straws, a daylight flight landing to look forward to instead of arriving at night. The gift of laughter to release our emotions – much more enjoyable than the torrential tears which I fought to hold back at the airport.

And laughing there at that table, my faith in God stronger than before, I realized I was flying.

Once I let go of what I had wanted, and stopped fighting it, I could relax and enjoy the ride again. Trusting Jesus as the pilot of my life.

Really, who needs an airplane to soar high enough to find rest in God?

Thank you God, for coming to show Yourself to me right where I am. Thank You for meeting me here on the ground. Thank You for teaching my spirit to soar.