“Though the mountains may be moved into the sea. Though the ground beneath might crumble and give way, I can hear my father singing over me,,,It’s gonna be ok.” Tasha Layton, “Into the Sea.”
When one boards an airplane for a trip there is an unwritten rule that applies. Everyone who has flown more than once is acutely aware of this. No, you won’t hear this on a pre-recorded message nor will you see it in the safety-manual that is neatly placed on the seat in front of you. This could have been passed down from generations before us or even friends who travel more than we do. On my recent holiday voyage it was my delight to be able to teach this to my youngest daughter who flew with me.
The unwritten but understood rule is…yes, there will be turbulence but if the flight attendant is not concerned, you shouldn’t be either. I have always reasoned with myself that turbulence is like hitting a pothole on a poorly maintained road in the sky.
I have always enjoyed flying and have never had a bad experience but my daughter was very nervous this time. We spoke at length about bumpy flights and I encouraged to download her favorite shows or a book to entertain her while flying.
On our recent mother-daughter trip we flew through many snowstorms, waited while planes were de-iced, re-filled with fuel, delayed flights and changing of planes. We felt like we experienced everything the friendly skies had to offer. We mostly chose joy and tried not to complain to each other although we silently knew we would not be flying during the holidays again anytime soon.
On our flight from the lovely town of Idaho Falls to Denver, Colorado turned into a major concern not long after we hit the air. The flight attendant rolled out her drink cart as normal and was serving drinks with a cheerful smile until the pilot voice filled the background. In a calm but urgent way he advised everyone that we were about to hit “severe turbulence” due to the weather headed into Denver. He urged the attendant to put away the drink cart and return to her seat immediately and all of the passengers should stay buckled up while making sure all of our personal items were secure.
I looked over at my daughter and she was none the wiser. She was clueless that we were about to take a fiery dive into the Rocky Mountains. I glanced at the flight attendant who was rolling that cart faster than Mario Andretti could make a lap around a race track. She had lost her cheerful, genuine smile and traded it for a fake smile that was forced. I briefly thought that this would be the end but then the Holy Spirit reminded me that I had praise music downloaded and I should enjoy the calming music and close my eyes.
Into my Apple Music Library I dove. I have a wonderful playlist downloaded that I normally use for yard work so I will feel closer to the Lord. This was perfect, not knowing what would play next, I clicked “shuffle” and waited for the Lord to WOW me with his peace.
As the turbulence began so did the music. Please refer to the lyrics at the very beginning of this article. Does God have jokes? Yes, this is the song that the Lord sent my way to remind me of his goodness and bestow his peace all around me. “Can you make something from the wreckage…though the mountains may be moved into the sea…..”
While I realize we were not flying over a sea….the words “mountains, wreckage and ground crumbling” had me so tickled. The good Lord knows me so well and is aware that I love a good laugh and can find humor in practically any situation. I smiled so big at the thought of him sending this song my way….was he laughing at me? It’s okay, I was laughing at myself and enjoying his presence all at the same time.
The recurring message in the song does say, “It’s gonna be okay, you have never let me down and you won’t.” He didn’t let us down. We truly never felt the severe turbulence.
I know that he delights in his children and he wants us to experience his love, his kindness and his sense of humor. Yes, I am convinced that God has jokes. After all, we were made in his image.
“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” – Genesis 1:27
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