Turbulence

Bumpy! That is an understatement! Hard ups and hard downs. Swerves to the right and violent shifts to the left. An hour and a half of the flight was this way. I hate turbulent flights. I already have a tough enough time understanding how you can get a massive hunk of metal off the ground, so when you add airborne potholes to the mix, I get more than a little uneasy. This is especially true when I am sitting over the wings. Something about looking out the window to see METAL wings flapping like a bird just doesn't soothe the nerves. The only thing that calms me down is a special I saw once on TV. The special reported about how the wings of commercial airplanes could actually bend up and down 20 feet (or some unreal number) without any problems. It helps me to remember that the plane is designed to handle the bumps.

I want to remind you that you are also designed to withstand turbulence. You underestimate our own God-given ability to take a hit and bounce back. You are stronger, tougher, and more resilient than you know. The financial loss may feel like a 40-foot drop. The spat with spouse may feel like a sudden jolt to the left. Fall outs with friends or your employer could very well feel like a mountain-sized plunge. The doctor's report . . . the bottom drops out. But rest assured that you have the ability to bend, ride it out, and stay airborne. Scripture is full of promises that the turbulence we sometimes face is momentary, necessary, known, for our good, and still subject to the command of our God! So fasten your seat belts, hold on, breathe deep, find the bag in the seat pocket, but know in your heart that you're not going down!