Permission To Land

Last month I wrote about Ecclesiastic Times - that there are seasons of life, and JULY means it's "time to fish"...

It's a long journey from Atlanta, Georgia to Kenai, Alaska even when you're flying. 

Nine hours of flying time and 4,450 miles (almost the same amount of miles if we drove across the U.S. and back again), a lay-over in Seattle, and a three hour lay-over in Anchorage because there are no flights going to Kenai at 1:30 in the morning. 

So we bundled up on the couches in the airport nursery with our 14, 12, & 9 year old babies and took advantage of a little shut eye before our 30 minute flight to our Northern cabin-home in Kenai.

At 4:30 am, the five of us boarded the 18 or so seater airplane, with a new excitement, and burst of energy knowing we were minutes away from our destination. 

The girls asked if this was the type of plane that crashes. How do you answer that question? It felt like we were in a banana with wings. One propeller motor started right up. Why wasn't the other one?  Stay calm.  I could see the pilot.  He looked confident like he knew what he was doing.  I'm trusting he knows what he's doing.

We take off. It's loud, but I knew this would be a beautiful flight just a few thousand feet above the ground, overlooking lakes and the Cook Inlet nestled next to Anchorage. Of course, it is light at 4:30 in Alaska on a summer morning.  It is dawn. The sun is just about to peek its head over the high peaks of the mountains. It won't be long now. This long night will finally end... 

Then all of a sudden the plane turns around as if it is heading back to Anchorage. I look back at Brent to say,"What's going on?" Maybe the pilot is getting a better angle to land? The pilot announces that we have NOT been given permission to land due to fog. Everyone in the plane looks out the windows to see what is keeping us from our destination. 

Fog? I could not see any fog. I could see the amazing snow capped mountains in the background. I could see the oil docks right next to our family's fish-site. What are they taking about? I didn't understand!

The pilot informed us that we had enough gas to circle for about 10 minutes and hope the unseen fog burned off within that time. Otherwise we would have to head back to Anchorage. What! Did this pilot understand that we had been traveling for over 14 hours? 

Then I look at my girls with a very calm and loving demeanor and explain gently what the pilot is saying. I give them a picture of a flexible mom, fully confident in the ones who are in charge. I let them know it will be okay, and we will eventually make it to our destination.  

I turn away from my girls faces and look out the window, fighting off worst case scenarios in my mind.  A little self talk helps - I have to trust this pilot and the "powers that be" who are completely in control of my life right now.  

All I can do is look out my tiny window over the wing.

The sky lights up even more signally the approaching sun. A parade of lights and colors. 
It is coming. The plane turns around again. The plane circles repeatedly and each time it turns back toward Anchorage, I am gifted with a new glimpse of the rising sun. The sky and clouds change colors each time, and each time I try to capture the beauty of it with my cell phone through the dirty window. 

We probably circled the same area 10 times, and it was much longer than 10 minutes.

I've complained that I don't get to see the sunrises & sunsets at my home in Georgia as our house sits down amongst a crowd of trees.  Just the other day, I had the girls grab a popsicle and follow me up on the roof of our house just to see a small glimpse of sunset between the trees at that moment. I was desperate. I didn't care about the mosquitos. This was important to me.  Now Ava frequently asks to go up on the roof to eat popsicles or play games!

Looking out the window, God says to me, "You want to see a sunrise? I'll show you a sunrise...and you can see it over and over and over."  Ten times to be almost exact. 

At that point, I settled into my seat to enjoy the ride and appreciate a moment I've been longing for. I accepted the fact that we may not arrive at our destination in the timing we thought. God had a detour, and I let my spirit embrace it. It was freeing. Giving up control does that. I had my precious family with me, and that's all I needed.  

Once I found value in the situation, I was able to trust that the pilot was making the best decision for us. 

We circled again, and the pilot announced that we were finally given permission to land! 
I couldn't believe it. We were more overjoyed to land now after circling for a half an hour. More grateful and excited than if we hadn't circled. More appreciative of our pilot. So thankful for him!

We have this natural inclination to want things to be easy and smooth sailing. We want to get where we want to go.  We have plans laid out and within our timing.  We like the safety of being in control.  But God's ways are higher than ours and sometimes his lessons are too. He gives us detours in life which create confusion for us because we can't see the unseen. We can't see the fog.  We feel like we're circling, going no where but really God is molding us, shaping us, pruning us, and teaching us to rest in the Pilot's hands. 

Kevin Myers from 12 Stone church says that physically we go from dependence to independence, but spiritually we go from independence to dependence. 

As we were landing, I could see the runway clearly through the front windshield of the plane. There was no fog in sight. Did God just blow that fog away in His timing just to give me some extra time to learn a lesson in His classroom above?  

I wondered until the assistant pilot told us they could see the runway the whole time we were circling....but there was fog over the weather station who was calling the shots.  Even though the pilot could see the runway clearly and could safely land the plane, he had to follow the orders of his authority.

Sometimes God gives us the clear vision to see where we are going, and we are ready and anxious to get there, yet God says to wait. Are we willing to wait a little bit longer, circle again to catch another glimpse of Our Maker's beauty and majesty and power.  To know Him in a new deeper way that would anchor our hearts in future storms and detours. A stripping of independence that moves us closer to complete dependence and trust in the One who will grant us permission to land in His perfect Ecclesiastic timing and season.

At 6:00 am (Alaska time) and 18 hours after leaving our home in Georgia, we arrived at Azarel - the fish site established by Brent's grandparents, Wendell & Joyce Honea, in 1961. 

Our entire family is so grateful God gave Wendell and Joyce permission to land in Alaska!