The Plane's Going Down!

Way back in 1995, my friend and I decided to fly to Colorado together. She had just graduated from college and I was expecting my second baby. I was going for a big "break" before newborn number two came and she was going as a treat for finishing college. Problem was she had never flown on an plane before AND she is a little bit on the hypochondriac side. The flight out there wasn't too bad. I would even venture to say she did well. But, our flight back was postponed some hours because of a snow storm. We finally got boarded on the plane in the wee hours of the night. We were seated right next to a neurosurgeon. That made my friend feel a bit better to know a doctor was close by. She even asked if he would perform surgery on her in the event of a crash. Surgery wasn't what he thought she needed. He was thinking medication. Lots and lots of medication. When the plane took off we ran into some turbulence. Actually, a lot of turbulence. So much so that my friend phoned her parents to inform them the plane was going down. Back in 1995, that call cost her $35. She really thought and acted like the plane was going down. Everyone else on the plane was snoozing away. Everyone but the doctor. He was rewriting that prescription for something stronger. I made every effort to calm my friend. How about singing praise songs? She wouldn't go for it. Didn't amuse her at all. What fun is that? I decided I would talk to her about the Lord. I began to say things like if we did die we'd get to see Jesus face to face. I tried to get her excited about the glory of it all but she didn't get excited. She only got more frightened. I went on to inform her that God is so worthy of our trust that the plane could be a ball of fire crashing down to earth and we wouldn't have to worry. We didn't have to be afraid. Now I am a very animated person when I make a point and I don't even know how to whisper. It was about this time the doctor began writing another prescription. This one was for me. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out which one of us was more crazy!

A bunch of girls from church went out to dinner the night before last and my friend told everyone this story. I was laughing so hard. I had forgotten about it. I am older now and realize just how bizarre we must have seemed. Nowadays if I was in a plane going down I think I would be a wee bit worried. Excited to see Jesus but worried. So, doc, if you're reading this: the medicine worked.