A Prayer, A Beer, and John Wesley
Well, I made it home! I must say, I was slightly worried I wouldn't. I am in no way scared of flying, in fact I love to fly! But last night after we loaded the plane, it seemed to take a while to get things going. The pilot kept starting the engines and then turning them off. Finally they said, "Well folks we have an electrical problem and we are going to have to change some circuits." I don't care how much you like to fly or how much you aren't afraid to fly, this is kind of alarming.
Then the man beside me was diagnosing the problem by trying to listen to the pilots' conversation and discerning which noises he heard outside the aircraft. He may have very well been a pilot, but I would think that a real pilot would have relaxed and known that they would take care of the problem. Think about it, what pilot would rationally take off with a serious problem? Its not like they are sending you off alone, they are on the plane as well. If you go down, they go down. Nonetheless, he was making me nervous!
Then we finally pulled onto the runway, but all of a sudden we stopped. After about ten minutes the pilot came over the speaker again. This time he said that another plane was having to make an emergency landing because their gear was out. So, all planes at the airport were stopped in case they needed to make a crash landing. I personally think it would have been better if the pilot had just said "it will just be a couple of more minutes folks, thanks for your patience." This is not a lie, it was a couple of more minutes. Whats the point of alarming people? But they did alarm us, and they had to go and remind me that this could get dangerous!
So what did I do? First, I prayed. I first and foremost believe in the power of prayer, in good and bad times. Then I remembered that my book on the theology of John Wesley was in my carry-on bag. I pulled it out and started re-reading the chapter on grace, it never hurts to refresh yourself on the power of grace. And finally once we took off and the beverage service came around, I ordered a beer.... Did I mention there were 30 high school juniors and seniors screaming on my flight? So, yeah, I needed a beer.
So, I am home now. And for the record, I think I am getting old, I was really glad to be in my own bed last night. I have never felt like that before! Thanks again for all the support!
Then the man beside me was diagnosing the problem by trying to listen to the pilots' conversation and discerning which noises he heard outside the aircraft. He may have very well been a pilot, but I would think that a real pilot would have relaxed and known that they would take care of the problem. Think about it, what pilot would rationally take off with a serious problem? Its not like they are sending you off alone, they are on the plane as well. If you go down, they go down. Nonetheless, he was making me nervous!
Then we finally pulled onto the runway, but all of a sudden we stopped. After about ten minutes the pilot came over the speaker again. This time he said that another plane was having to make an emergency landing because their gear was out. So, all planes at the airport were stopped in case they needed to make a crash landing. I personally think it would have been better if the pilot had just said "it will just be a couple of more minutes folks, thanks for your patience." This is not a lie, it was a couple of more minutes. Whats the point of alarming people? But they did alarm us, and they had to go and remind me that this could get dangerous!
So what did I do? First, I prayed. I first and foremost believe in the power of prayer, in good and bad times. Then I remembered that my book on the theology of John Wesley was in my carry-on bag. I pulled it out and started re-reading the chapter on grace, it never hurts to refresh yourself on the power of grace. And finally once we took off and the beverage service came around, I ordered a beer.... Did I mention there were 30 high school juniors and seniors screaming on my flight? So, yeah, I needed a beer.
So, I am home now. And for the record, I think I am getting old, I was really glad to be in my own bed last night. I have never felt like that before! Thanks again for all the support!
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