Tell Fear to Take a Flying Leap

I'm thinking that there are plenty of us that deal with fear on some level. For instance, I sincerely hate driving or walking over those big drain grates in the road. There is an irrational fear that they'll open right up and I'll fall deep into the waters under the city where rats will be my only company.

A friend of mine doesn't like swimming. She thinks an indoor pool might open up and throw into hell. We all know these things won't happen, but sometimes the fear of what could happen outweighs the truth.

That's the joke with fear. Usually our fear of something is never as bad as what actually could or will happen.

The fear is very real, even if it never comes to a reality.

For me, it's flying.

Now, I have a pretty good reason to be afraid of flying. In 1986 my grandparents were flying to Dallas in their small, six-seater Bonanza plane when disaster hit. They got caught in a storm, the autopilot wouldn't disengage, and my grandparents went down somewhere in north Texas.

It was one of the most horrible days of my life. I remember it clearly. Young, scared, and helpless. So, because of that, I tend to not like flying.

Who really likes to get into a metal cylinder that flies above the ground at 30,000 feet? I'm just not comfortable being in a tube that is only inches thick. You know that step from the jetway to the plane? That moment between on the ground and in the tube? Well, I always look at how thin the plane is and whisper a prayer. I might also throw in a little pat on the plane, kiss the doorway, do the sign of the cross, and anoint the pilots with oil.

Not only that, when I fly Jesus has to talk me through the entire flight. I'm not kidding. Every minute is a prayer. Mind you, I'm not freaking out in those minutes, but I am keenly aware of how much time we have left in any flight. I love those planes with the little T.V. that will show you have far your plane has left to fly, however, I'm sure if you looked at my face you'd want to slap that look of concern and worry right off.

To make matters worse, anytime there is turbulence I get a little white knuckled and it's all I can do not to stand up and yell to those unphased by the terror, "What's wrong with you people?! Didn't you feel that! Did you know we're going to die!"

In contrast, when I hear the captain say we are beginning our descent, I want to jump and shout, "Thank you Jesus!" Then I imagine making my way around the plane to hug complete strangers because we just escaped death together.

One time, when the pilot put the landing gear down, I had a little bit of a moment of "Oh no! What was that!" So much so, that I grabbed the arm of the man next to me and said, "Is that normal?!" He answered, looking at me with a bit of alarm then glancing at his arm, "I think it was the landing gear."

"Oh," I replied, slipping my hand off of the man's arm.

Now, could I die in a plane crash? Maybe, that fear cannot be allowed to paralyze me and steal life and joy from me.

One way to beat the fear came from a dear friend of mine. This wisdom touched my heart and helped me be set free from so much fear. Now when I fly I remember these tender, tender, touching words from the heart of someone who really wanted to ease my fear.

"Natalie, look, if the plane goes down, you die."

Point taken.

Why freak out about what I can't control.

I am now free to move about the country.



What fear rules your life? What is something you let control you even when you cannot control it? How can Christ deliver you from fear?


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