(by R. McGuire 9/10/07)
The travel arrangements were made. My husband and I would be flying to Phoenix to visit my ailing Dad & Mom. Reservations, to-do lists, good-bye calls and kisses were given. We settled into our Economy Plus seats toward the front of the plane. I surrendered my window seat to my husband Bob in anticipation that it would be mine on the return flight home. A jump-seat pilot for another airline sat on the other side of me.
This was our first cross-country trip without our one and only 17-year old son Nathan. Last minute reminders of “if something happens to us” was on my mind and lips as we hugged ‘so long’ at the airport.
Our takeoff was uneventful, as we held hands and prayed. But the ordinary quickly became terrifying, a mere forty-five minutes into the flight….
The first indication of trouble was a knock on the cockpit door, the captain being briefed, and then making a trip toward the rear of the plane. I hadn’t seen a restroom at the front of the plane so I quickly dismissed it as a bathroom break. I turned my attention back to my ‘travel norm’ – a crossword puzzle book.
A short while later the stillness of a routine flight took a turn. The captain returned to the cockpit, closing the door behind him. The sound of the jet engines changed as his voice rang out over the cabin intercom. “Attention Ladies and Gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We want to let you know that we have smoke in the cockpit.” Everyone gasped. “No I’m sorry I mean there’s a report of burning plastic in the cabin at the rear of the plane, so we are making an unscheduled, emergency descent to a nearby airport here in ummmm--- Des Moines, Iowa. We’ll keep you posted. Thank you.”
And with a click of the on-board intercom system, before anyone could mutter a sound, the plane promptly nose-dived toward earth. I reached for Bob’s hand as we prayed silently. An eerie silence fell over the cabin with the exception of a few whimpers behind us. Gasps could be heard over the scream of the jet engines as our 43 ton life capsule plummeted from the sky toward terra firma… Our worst nightmare seemed to be coming true.
My heart raced and my mind jettisoned toward home as I pictured my son Nathan, parentless. I pleaded quickly with God to dispatch His angels to hold our plane safely until we could land. In mere seconds I flashed back to Nathan’s birth, to the moment I set eyes on my husband, my parents crying as they heard the news of losing yet another child, my sisters Terri & June, and my brother Roy. My pastor and his precious wife. My church family. Even my beloved puppy Cody.
“Lord please, may it not be so…”
A verse flashed in my mind, “Do not fear, for I AM with You.”
“Am I truly Yours Lord?”
“I have called you by name. My sheep hear My voice.”
“But Lord – I’ve been struggling in my walk lately. Even too busy for You. Am I okay?”
“None can be snatched from My hand…”
I sat there and continued to plead,
“Oh Lord. Lord Please!
Oh Lord please, get us down and out safely.”
In that brief moment I suddenly had an acute awareness of where we were landing and in my minds’ eye a long forgotten movie reel replayed over and over of Flight 232, a plane that crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa back in 1989. The face of a young man (I even recalled his name in that moment), Jeff Miller, had come to our church long ago to retell the story of how his planes’ hydraulics failed and the pilot managed to crash-land their plane. The burning fuselage rolling violently on the runway, subsequently splitting in half with his piece coming to a stop in the ripe 8 foot high cornfield.
His section of the plane managed to land upside down, and when it came to a stop he was still strapped in his seat. Despite the carnage around him, he’d had a tremendous peace. He recounted the stewardess reminding them not to grab any personal belongings, but when he’d looked down on the ‘ceiling’ there sat his Bible. Once he was helped down he grabbed it and climbed out of the wreckage. An enormous amount of people in his section of the plane were unharmed.
He’d walked away totally unscathed. The Lord had indeed protected him like He did long ago for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who walked in the fiery furnace and came out without even smelling like smoke. In fact, those he managed to rescue & assist asked if he was an on-field angel or pastor because he didn’t have a black smudge on him and his suit was still crisp and clean…
As quickly as this memory recount played, my mind skirted over the fact that, here we were post-9/11 – only a few mere days away from celebrating the six year anniversary of our national tragedy. Was this a terrorist attempt on our plane? Isn’t that why I didn’t want to book our return flight on Tuesday, September 11th?
My heart skipped a few beats, my breath came short and my hand squeezed desperately around my husbands’, I was transported back into the moment. It was then I heard it once again, “Do not fear nor be afraid, for I AM with You – even to the end of the age...”
I exhaled deeply knowing it to be true. I was His, He had us in His hands and that NO MATTER WHAT everything would be okay…
As I slowly opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the cornfields. Then, besides the still small voice of my Savior, was the sweetest sound - the wheels of our plane touching down on the tarmac… We quickly deplaned as the Hazmat crews and fire trucks rushed toward and engulfed our jet.
It had taken only a mere five minutes for our plane to plummet then land – but it felt like a lifetime, slipping through your fingertips. Out of our control. Surrendered to the trust of our captain. But something else unique happened at 30,000 feet.
All 173 souls on board were saved – but there was one particular soul on board that was re-claimed as the Lord affirmed, “Despite your wanderings Child, you are mine and I am Yours. Walk with Me and I will carry you. Have I not shown you that today?…”
A familiar song played on the radio of our rental car as we drove to my Mom & Dad’s – but the words took on new meaning somehow…
“Who Am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I that the eyes that seen my sin, could look on me with love
And watch me rise again
Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done, but because of Who You are
I am, a flower quickly fading – here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You, hear me when I’m calling
Lord You catch me when I’m falling
And You told me who I am”
I am Yours, I am Yours…..
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
For I am Yours… I am Yours..
Prologue: Well, it is September 10th, 2007 and I send this out to those I know. We’ve still yet to travel home to Chicago in a few days. I’ll let you know when we get there! Would love your reaction to this experience… I cried when I read it out loud to Bob… We serve an Awesome God. Here, there or in the air.
Blessings in Him,
Rhonda
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