Lots of things I don't like about traveling on airplanes.
For one thing I am always in a coach seat. I have never learned how to sleep sitting almost straight up, while my neck tilts on a 45 degree angle, laying on some strangers shoulder. This usually leaves me with my head in a semi-permanent bend that lasts a few hours and causes people to stare at me when I'm getting my baggage. Then, there is that tense wait while you find your seat and begin to check out the passengers coming down the aisles to see who your seatmates are going to be. You are hoping that it will be an 80 pound little girl and not a behemoth – this can be critical on a long transatlantic flight. And then there are those little itsy, bitsy bathrooms that are not built for those of us with more ample posteriors. And, finally, what can you say about a bag of peanuts that has not been said already, except that I now bring my own food with me. All those years I moaned about my mother packing a brown bag lunch for me in grammar school, and now I am making my own peanut butter sandwiches to eat at 36,000 miles over Omaha.
But, there are some things that I really, really like about airplanes a whole lot. A year or so back, I was heading back to Los Angeles (LAX) from Europe. It was a long flight and I was ready for home. We were on the normal glide path about 45 minutes out when the pilot came on the intercom and said, "Folks, it looks like the airport is completely fogged in." Back in the old days when LAX was fogged in, the planes were diverted to the Lancaster / Palmdale area which is about one hour north in a higher desert elevation. The air was always clear up there because the winds never stopped blowing. Then the passengers were put on a bus and driven into Los Angeles. Usually, you just added an extra 2 to 4 hours to your trip and got home in time to see the sun come up, and greet the rooster.
But, our Captain soon followed up and said, "Not to worry folks, this new 757LR is equipped with triple backup auto-pilot capability and we should be touching down in about 30 minutes." You can bet that everyone who was sleeping had suddenly become rather alert. Sometimes, maybe most times, when you are landing in a major city you look out of the windows and see the bright shining lights of the metropolis. Well, not this time. I had a window seat, and I knew the landing approach like the back of my hand. All I saw out the window was a reflection of my face staring back at me. It was soupy, soupy, soupy all the way. The minutes ticked on by and I felt like a fetus in the womb – the outside world might be there, but you could not prove it to any of the passengers. But, we did have the Captains assurances, "Be not afraid, this new 757LR is equipped with triple backup auto-pilot capability."
Suddenly, we broke through the foggy soup about 20 feet off the ground right over the leading edge of the runway and 20 seconds before the wheels of the plane touched down for one of the smoothest landings I have ever had. The passengers all exhaled together and clapped as the Captain taxied us home to where loved ones were waiting for us.
So who is your Captain on this great trip of life, and do you really trust Him to get you safely home?
John 14:1-6 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
For one thing I am always in a coach seat. I have never learned how to sleep sitting almost straight up, while my neck tilts on a 45 degree angle, laying on some strangers shoulder. This usually leaves me with my head in a semi-permanent bend that lasts a few hours and causes people to stare at me when I'm getting my baggage. Then, there is that tense wait while you find your seat and begin to check out the passengers coming down the aisles to see who your seatmates are going to be. You are hoping that it will be an 80 pound little girl and not a behemoth – this can be critical on a long transatlantic flight. And then there are those little itsy, bitsy bathrooms that are not built for those of us with more ample posteriors. And, finally, what can you say about a bag of peanuts that has not been said already, except that I now bring my own food with me. All those years I moaned about my mother packing a brown bag lunch for me in grammar school, and now I am making my own peanut butter sandwiches to eat at 36,000 miles over Omaha.
But, there are some things that I really, really like about airplanes a whole lot. A year or so back, I was heading back to Los Angeles (LAX) from Europe. It was a long flight and I was ready for home. We were on the normal glide path about 45 minutes out when the pilot came on the intercom and said, "Folks, it looks like the airport is completely fogged in." Back in the old days when LAX was fogged in, the planes were diverted to the Lancaster / Palmdale area which is about one hour north in a higher desert elevation. The air was always clear up there because the winds never stopped blowing. Then the passengers were put on a bus and driven into Los Angeles. Usually, you just added an extra 2 to 4 hours to your trip and got home in time to see the sun come up, and greet the rooster.
But, our Captain soon followed up and said, "Not to worry folks, this new 757LR is equipped with triple backup auto-pilot capability and we should be touching down in about 30 minutes." You can bet that everyone who was sleeping had suddenly become rather alert. Sometimes, maybe most times, when you are landing in a major city you look out of the windows and see the bright shining lights of the metropolis. Well, not this time. I had a window seat, and I knew the landing approach like the back of my hand. All I saw out the window was a reflection of my face staring back at me. It was soupy, soupy, soupy all the way. The minutes ticked on by and I felt like a fetus in the womb – the outside world might be there, but you could not prove it to any of the passengers. But, we did have the Captains assurances, "Be not afraid, this new 757LR is equipped with triple backup auto-pilot capability."
Suddenly, we broke through the foggy soup about 20 feet off the ground right over the leading edge of the runway and 20 seconds before the wheels of the plane touched down for one of the smoothest landings I have ever had. The passengers all exhaled together and clapped as the Captain taxied us home to where loved ones were waiting for us.
So who is your Captain on this great trip of life, and do you really trust Him to get you safely home?
John 14:1-6 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
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