#1) Don't freak.
#2) We're fine.
#3) We will be delayed.
Those were the first words of a text message that Scott and I sent to our kids the moment our American Airlines plane touched the ground after making an emergency landing in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday afternoon.
On the way to Pennsylvania (for our oldest son's wedding), a mechanical malfunction caused the plane to indicate a loss of cabin pressure at which time all the oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling and the emergency warning blared repeatedly from overhead. An exceedingly rapid descent immediately ensued causing people to experience significant ear pain (and at least two nosebleeds), but that was a relatively small price to pay for our eventual safe landing. I'm a very firm believer that God has me tightly held in the palm of His hand, so we never felt especially frightened or as though our lives were in imminent danger (which apparently calmed the guy sitting next to us drinking a double-vodka Bloody Mary). Photos, however, were in fact taken to document the experience for our kids.
This was not our first emergency landing (and by far not my first brush with death); so I've come to realize that situations like these definitely provide an unexpected opportunity to take stock, ponder things, and consider whether you feel satisfied with how much you've given love and received love in this life. So if I haven't mentioned lately how grateful I am for your impact in my life, please know that I am.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10 (also the exact time of emergency)
