Turbulence

“This is your captain in the flight deck and we’ve just reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. We have some rough air up ahead so I’m going to keep the fasten seat belt light on until we get through this little bit of turbulence.”

I check my seat belt and it’s fastened – not pulled in too tight, though. I look left and right, eyeing my fellow passengers, looking to spot the white-knuckled rookie travelers as we approach the coming bumpy air. But everyone looks ahead, stone faced and nonchalant, as if they fly through the rough stuff all the time.

I mimic that same look. “No Big Deal.”

The first bump hits. “Not too bad.”
Then a second bump, a third, and then a fourth – they’re coming together faster. The plane hits some kind of air pocket and dips a few hundred feet and I feel weightless. We’re being tossed around like a cheap toy, shimmying and buckling with each hard bounce.

“Okay, now it’s no fun.”

I start praying to God in a stream-of-consciousness-please-save-me-forgive-me-for-my-sins-take-care-of-my-family-don’t-let-me-suffer-kind of style.

And then just like that, it stops. Smooth air.

Isn’t life just like this? We know turbulence is in our future, just ahead of us somewhere on the path, and even when we see it coming, even when we know it’s going to hit and we think we’re sufficiently prepared, we find out it is still scary and unnerving. We lose our sense of control. We become powerless.

In today’s chaotic times, we face turbulence like we’ve never seen in our lifetimes and most of us recognize that this uncertainty will continue into the future. So, now, more than ever, we need to reach out for God’s steady grip and limitless love for He will not forsake us.

He’s got it under control.