Recently, on our way home from a family vacation, I was suffering from my usual flight anxiety. I never used to suffer from this; in fact I used to work for the airline and enjoyed the perk of flying stand-by. Now all of a sudden, I am anxious from the moment I enter the aircraft. I know that flying is the safest form of travel, yet I struggle with this overwhelming fear that something will happen. I’m not nervous about where my soul will end up if I should die, because I truly believe that I am at peace with a very loving God. What invades my mind is the utter terror of a plight from the sky.
To continue my story, as I peered out the window at the beautiful starlit night, I drank in the beauty of the city lights below that danced in the evening shadow. It was absolutely breathtaking! I struggled between this beauty and the horror that we might crash as we approach the landing strip. My mind reminded me of the very young ages of the pilots and all of the other facts that can exaggerate one’s fear of flying. My very confident 18 year old daughter who sat beside me commented, “Mom, you need to relax! Whatever’s gonna’ happen is going to happen!” What do they say? Out of the mouths of babes? This really got me thinking though. I had such a difficult time focusing on the beauty below because of my fear. I allowed a possibility to take precedence over the reality of life. How often do I let this happen in my life? Maybe you can relate. I have become so distracted by the “What if’s” that I have ignored the “enjoy this” or “try this.” In fact, I wonder how much I have missed out on simply because of my fear to take chances.