Where to Go When Life Gets Turbulent

Photo by Amelia Grace Photography

Where to Go When Life Gets Turbulent

By

Rebecca Halton

 

As I checked in at Hartsfield-Jackson three days after Awaken 2013, the touch-screen computer asked me if I wanted to change my seat assignment.  Curious, I looked at what was available.  Most of the plane was full, but there in the first row, was one open seat.   

It would cost a small fee to change from my aisle seat in the back, to this window seat in the front, but then I considered the bumpy, closed-in feeling of being in the back on the flight to Atlanta.  And I recalled the advice my dad, a retired helicopter pilot, gave me:  

The most stable place on a plane is over the wings; the second-most stable is in front of the wings; and the least stable is in the back of the aircraft.  

No-brainer: I switched seats.  

During the flight, I kept pondering my dad’s advice -- and noticed a parallel for life.  When life gets turbulent, some places are better to “seat ourselves” in than others.  How about row 19A in the rear – as in ‘A’ for anxiety?  No?  Stomach already starting to turn? 

Then how about the place known – and proven through the laws of aerodynamics and physics – to be the most stable place?  The wings.  Or in this analogy: His wings.  Where there is always a seat available for you, and sanctuary is always assured.  In fact: 

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrows that fly by day….  If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:4, 5, 9 and 10, NIV) Click here for the full passage. 

Sometimes seating yourself beneath His wings will involve effort on your part.  Or will come at a cost.  I couldn’t move to a more stable place without paying that extra fee.  In most cases, though, the cost is our comfort, fear, habits, expectations, or sense of control. 

But the greatest cost of all, Jesus already paid.  He paid the price for us to have unlimited, first-class seating under the wings of the Father.  The place in which, no matter what storms rage around us, or turbulent circumstances rock us, is proven to be our best refuge. 

 

Rebecca Halton is an author and speaker, as well as the other half of Team Redeemed (with Shelley Hendrix).  She recently released her third e-book Recalculating: What to do when your life has gone in a different direction than you thought it should.  When she’s not writing, Rebecca loves grabbing coffee with close friends, and learning how to better manage her emotions.  (Photo credit: Sarah Verno)