Sweaty Palms: A Confession

Yesterday I flew from Denver to Pensacola on American Airlines.  Now normally I’m an United Airlines gal, but couldn’t justify the $200 extra for the ticket (let’s be honest, the company travel policy wouldn’t allow it either).  So I sucked it up, took the AA flight.  For those of you who think airline loyalty is a bit over the top, allow me to shed some light…

First off, I’ll let you in on a secret, 

I can be a nervous nelly when it comes to flying.  Call me crazy, but flying in a 50 ton giant Tylenol (name that movie!) with 200 other people 6 miles above the ground seems iffy.   Sorry to doubt you, Bernoulli & Newton.  I’m sure you were smart fellows… It’s not you, it’s me. 

Let’s throw some logic at this:

Now back to why I’m loyal to United… One reason is United knows there are folks like me that need a little psychological nudge to avoid complete panic.  So they made available Channel 9, an audio channel which you can listen to the pilots and air traffic control communicate.  Genius!  (ok, ok… nerdy)  

The beauty of listening to Air Traffic Control is that you know what’s going on with the aircraft so you’re not completely in the dark.  Air Traffic Control will alert the pilots of turbulence or direct them which way to turn, for example.  So being a person that gets sweaty palms when we hit some bumps, its nice to get a heads up on what we should expect… it’s nice to be certain that, no, the screws holding the wings to the fuselage aren’t falling off.  And, let’s be honest, much of the time I have no clue what is meant by their jargon but I expect I’d hear frantic “MAYDAY! MAYDAY!” if we were falling out of the sky.

Now don’t judge… We all have our things.  I’m just trying to be transparent.  Listening to this station keeps me sane… keeps things in perspective in a situation where I have no control.  

So recently God used this little gift of Channel 9 to put some things into perspective.

(uh oh… did things just get serious?  Cue soft background music and go with me for a minute…)

Life has been crazy lately… you know, picking up, moving across the country, The Accountant starting new accounting, me having to find a new job… and every so often, I get in panic mode (maybe someday I’ll blog about crying in the middle of the grocery store over hot sauce).  Shocking, I know!  These days every little bump and unexpected turn causes sweaty palms.  The cool thing is God doesn’t intend for me to have to go through everything in the dark, just hoping things turn out ok.  He’s let me listen in, His own Channel 9 of sorts, though I don’t always understand each detail.  Throughout the craziness of life He tells me to be still and know that He is God.  He tells me that in this world I will have trouble, don’t be surprised, chill out... He has overcome the world.  He says not to freak out, He’ll help me.  (Preach it, sista!)

My level of sanity seems to be directly correlated to my time spent with God.  It’s when I’m listening to His words regularly by reading the bible that I can be calm about life’s happenings and know (somewhat) how it pieces together… and it’s when I’m not that I get all sweaty palmed, anxious and convinced the world is crumbling!  

Now where this analogy breaks down is that with God, its a 2-way conversation, a relationship.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m pretty sure Mr. Pilot would not appreciate hearing my thoughts on piloting a jet.

So there you are… just been on my heart… 

……

Now if only Channel 9 could fix the awkwardness of the lady openly breast feeding her toddler in the next seat…  but thats a story for another day. 

……

Much Love,
Christine