"Wow! That was Fun!"

Psalm 107.25, 26c, 28-30 NKJ

“For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea.”

“Their soul melts because of trouble.”

“Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven.”

My son, Robert, and I boarded a four hour and twenty minute non-stop flight from Chicago to Portland. About an hour into the flight, Robert, who was eight years old at the time, said, “Daddy, I have to go potty.” I took him to the back of the plane and waited by the flight attendant who was pouring drinks for passengers.

Then turbulence hit. We were really rocking. I heard the captain over the intercom, “Flight attendants, please take your seats and buckle up.” I noticed the cups of soft drinks and coffee spilling and bracing myself, I inquired of the attendant, “Is this normal?” He responded with (what I interpreted as) a worried look, “This is more turbulence than we like to see. It’s a level 4.” The attendant wasn’t smiling and, of course, did not give me the answer I was hoping for.

I hurried my son back to our seats and we rode out a real storm. In the distance below and to the south we watched as constant lightning flamed through the sky. It was an awesome display of natural power, but the storm invoked fear in me. I wondered (unnecessarily as it turns out), “What if we never see my wife and children again?” Our tiny speck of a plane in the vast, dark sky remained airborne at the mercy of heaven and its elements. We bounced, dropped, and shook our way toward Portland. The captain promised it would stop in about twenty minutes and it did. I spent those twenty minutes praying and comforting myself by silently quoting scripture. When the skies were calm again, I asked for my son’s impression, and should have guessed his answer... “Wow! That was fun!”

I did a little research on thunderstorms and air travel turbulence…

“The National Weather Service (NWS) radar observer is able to objectively determine storm intensity levels with VIP [Video Integrator Processor] equipment. These radar echo intensity levels are on a scale of one to six. If the maximum VIP Levels are 1 ‘weak’ and 2 ‘moderate,’ then light to moderate turbulence is possible with lightning. VIP Level 3 is ‘strong’ and severe turbulence is possible with lightning. VIP Level 4 is ‘very strong’ and severe turbulence is likely with lightning. VIP Level 5 is ‘intense’ with severe turbulence, lightning, hail likely, and organized surface wind gusts. VIP Level 6 is ‘extreme’ with severe turbulence, lightning, large hail, extensive surface wind gusts, and turbulence.”[1]

Level 4 storm intensity (“very strong and severe turbulence… with lightning”) called for level 4 prayer intensity. Frankly, I was scared and prayer helped. Scriptures I had memorized in the past filled my soul offering comfort and confidence. I felt and appreciated the presence of Jesus with me in my Level 4 hour of need.

Like the seafarers of twenty-five hundred years ago, I watched God raise “the windy storm.” My ‘soul melted’ and I ‘cried out to the Lord.’ Thankfully, He ‘calmed the storms’ that raged in the sky and in my heart. He stilled the gale and I was “glad” when the winds became “quiet.” God successfully ‘brought me out of my distress’ and safely home again. Jesus loves all travelers and “guides them to their desired haven.” 

Robert was thrilled by the journey home, and I was relieved to be there. 

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[1] Paper AC 00-24B “Thunderstorms”, William T. Brennan, Acting Director of Flight Operations, Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, 1/2/83, printed from Summit Aviation’s Computerized Aviation Reference Library, 8/22/2007.