Who Commands The Air?

I am not a comfortable airplane traveler. At the least amount of turbulence, I think the plane is going down. The last week in April, Mike and I flew to Portland, Oregon, to visit our daughter, Anna. We were all day reaching our destination that included a lengthy layover in Denver.

On the second leg of our travels, from Denver to Portland, the pilot’s voice came on halfway through the flight and asked the passengers to keep seatbelts fastened because turbulence would make the remaining time in the air bumpy.

I clicked my seatbelt together. “Oh, my,” I thought, “the airplane is going down for sure!”

As predicted, we encountered the air pockets that create turbulence and a bumpy ride began. Usually when we travel I bring a piece of quilting. I was working on a table runner to use in the kitchen. With each jolt of the plane, I noted my stitches went deeper through the cloth and were closer together.

Quilting keeps me calm, brings me comfort, and is a way to pray. As I quilted across the land, I formed a prayer: “Jesus calm the air.” I repeated these words like a mantra to remind myself at 30,000 feet I was not alone.

I was taken back to the sermon I heard a few weeks ago from Matthew 8:23-27 about the time Jesus and the disciples were in a boat crossing a lake. While they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A storm hit the lake causing the boat to toss and turn. The disciples thought they were about to die. They awakened Jesus, who chastised them – “What little faith you have!” Jesus “ordered the wind and the waves to stop” and calmness returned.

I knew my prayer wouldn’t calm the air…or could it? As I repeated the words, I felt my heart reach a place of peace and, interestingly, the turbulence ended.

While I was waiting in line to exit the plane, I saw the pilot and one of the flight attendants talking. When I got closer, I heard the pilot say, “Well, I guess I misread the turbulence. It just didn’t happen as I thought.”

Walking through the tunnel that leads from the plane to the terminal, I reflected – there were two pilots for this flight: Jesus, and the pilot who flew the plane.

For Your Reflection:

1. When “storms” come in your life and you feel tossed and turned, how do you respond?
2. What short prayer or mantra can you repeat as you experience “turbulence” in life?

Prayer: God, thank you for calming the air and my heart, just like Jesus calmed the sea for the disciples. Remind me always to look toward you at all times. Amen.