FLYING LESSONS

Many years ago,my husband Harvey and I were in Colorado ministering. Back then we traveled with a national prison ministry, where my brave husband had the opportunity to skydive into hundreds of prisons. One of my jobs was to drive to the prisons and set up the target and gear for landing. I would also MC as he jumped from the plane, landed and then spoke to the prisoners.We had a wonderful friend who piloted the small plane for us for many of these weekends.
This particular weekend, we were in the heart of the Colorado Mountains. If you love the mountains like we do, you would understand the sense of awe we both felt just seeing them from the ground. On this Friday morning, I drove the car to the prisons for two jumps that day. When we were done and it was time to return to the airport, Harvey turned to me and said " I'll drive the car, you fly back in the plane with Ellis. You'll love the view from the plane I'll see you at the airport".
Ellis and I climbed into the plane and took off. My husband was right, I loved it! Ellis skillfully navigated through and around the majestic mountains. It was breathtaking. He looked at me and said "Harvey and I thought it was time for your first flying lesson".
"What! No way! You fly the plane- I just want to look around," I said shaking my head. He smiled and said "Put your hands on the wheel, you"ll love it" After I argued a bit, he finally convinced me. I took a deep breath and gripped the steering yoke tightly with both hands until my fingernails dug into my palms. Knowing he had the other steering yoke completely in hand did not help me relax my white knuckled grip. Then he did the unthinkable! He let go! What was he thinking! Didn't he understand how nervous I was already. He didn't realize that driving in Atlanta traffic was intense for me. This wasn't fun anymore. I very quickly had had enough.
I said to him " I don't like this take it back!" He calmly put his hands on the grips in front of him.
Then he smiled and said "Okay if you don't want to learn I won't make you."
As I sat there, looking out the window, I thought to myself, "This is fine. I don't have to experience the piloting to enjoy it, I'll just enjoy the view. Just then , the Lord spoke to me so clearly, "If you want to just watch, that's okay. But if want to experience more , you can. Don't let fear rob you and cheat you out of it." Determination, then courage rose on the inside of me. I grabbed the steering yoke with both hands and said to Ellis "I've got it. What do I do next?"
He let go, then began instructing me on altitude and speed. He told me he was going to talk me through a turn. My grip began to tighten again. Then he said these words, "I'm right here beside you, listen to my voice. Follow what I say. Don't worry. There's no mistake that you can make that I can't fix."
With just his voice calmly instructing me through the headset, I truly enjoyed navigating us through those beautiful mountains, I even made a complete turn by myself. I met Harvey at the airport so excited to tell him that I had had my first flying lesson. And oh what I learned along the way.
I think about those words that helped me navigate through those mountains that day. "I'm right here beside you. Follow my voice, there's no mistake I can't fix."
When the fear of making a mistake is gone, we can truly enjoy new challenges and experiences.
I have faced many challenges and mountains over the years. They've only served to show me how high I can fly and even enjoy the view, along the way.