Going Home!

I know this is a reprint, but in light of all that's happening in our world I found it a good reminder that regardless of what is going on - our Father is at the helm and He's taking us home!

A pastor had been on a long flight between conferences.  The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on:  Fasten Your Seat Belts.  Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We will not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive.  Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time.  The turbulence is still ahead of us."  

And then the storm broke...   The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines.  Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments, that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean.  One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him.  He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying.  The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

Then, I suddenly saw a little girl.  Apparently the storm meant nothing to her.  She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly.

Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world.  When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm; when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity; when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid."  The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.  Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement.  We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at 
rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.

Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot.  He is in control and taking us home. Don 't worry!

Love & blessings-

Dancing In The Hurricaines

“Buddha said that fortune changes like the swish of a horse’s tail. Tomorrow could be the first day of thirty years of quadriplegia…the more you open to life, the less death becomes the enemy. When you start using death as a means of focusing on life, then everything becomes just as it is, just this moment, an extraordinary opportunity to be really alive.” – Stephen Levine

FOR SOME PEOPLE, life’s difficulties are much more than storms – they are horrific hurricanes. Enormous calamities can happen to anyone at any time – we never know who might be struck by tragedy.

We are grateful when it isn’t us. “thank God that didn’t happen to me,” we whisper to ourselves. “I don’t know how I would have handled such misfortune.”

And we are inspired by the example set by others:

• actor Michael J. Fox and his valiant struggle with Parkinson’s disease • basketball hero Magic Johnson, living his life with the HIV virus, • physicist Stephen Hawking, who continues his brilliant scientific work despite being totally crippled by Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), • Senator John McCain, who survived broken bones and years of torture as a North Vietnam prisoner of war, • Holocaust author Elie Wiesel, who wrote about his search for meaning in the living hell of concentration camps in Nazi Germany, • blind/deaf Helen Keller, who overcame her disability and went on to teach and inspire millions of others to do the same, • “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve, determined to overcome his quadriplegia and spinal cord injury caused by falling from a horse.

These people and many like them are amazing human beings – not just because of the suffering they endured – but because they experienced gratitude in the midst of disaster. They were grateful not only to be alive, but grateful to have found meaning and purpose. They became who they were – not in spite of their pain – but because of it.

We can do more than just endure the storm - we can DANCE IN THE HURRICAINE!  How?  Because God's grace IS sufficient!!  He will be right there with us all the way!!

2 Cor 12:9 (NLV)
He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me.

Have a great week!