Friday, January 16, 2009

Do You Believe in Miracles?

"When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life or in the life of another." Helen Keller

I am a white-knuckle, fearful flyer.

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that after years of flying, I experienced a rather rough landing in a storm on a flight home from a family reunion.....and this event caused me to have a fear of flying that became 'paralyzing' as the years went by...I went a long time without getting back on a plane...missing so many special life events.

It was a very difficult fear to get over.....but, about ten years ago I finally said "Enough!" and got back on a plane again...and, I haven't looked back since.

All of this being said, I have been glued to the television ever since the U.S, Air jet landed in the Hudson River yesterday. What an incredible series of events that led to, what can only be called, a true miracle!

No matter how many times I see shots of that huge Airbus jet floating in the water with survivors standing on the wings....no matter how many stories of heroism I hear....I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that everyone survived this horrific situation.

And, what about those pilots? They had to make snap decisions as their plane was becoming less and less able to fly. Thank God for their presence of mind at this crucial time. Every person on that flight owes their life to their quick thinking and skill.

Will this event make me fearful of flying again? I have thought about this question quite a bit since yesterday.

My answer is "No"..."it isn't easy to hold onto fear when one observes miracles all around us".

2 comments:

Tabor said...

I think I believe in miracles, but then, what is one's definition of a miracle. Was this? Or was this just good people acting as they should? I guess the real miracle is the greatness of spirit in others. I also am somewhat fatalistic about flying. I could die crossing the street, but I am not going to stop doing that either.

L. said...

I agree, there are many definitions of what a miracle is...and it is personal to each of us.
What strikes me most about this situation were all of the things that had to come into place to make this successful....from the pilot to the crew to the boats in the river...to the people on the plane.
Yes, there was 'greatness of spirit' in this case...but, to me, it was the sum of the parts all working in their favor that classified it as a miraculous event.
Thanks for your comment...it was good 'food for thought'!