The Wind Beneath My Wing

Many years ago, before the turn of the century, when I was an ambitious young pilot , I was offered a ride in a twin engine Beechcraft Barron.   The 58P Baron was the Cadillac of small light twins.  Although I was licensed to fly single engine aircraft, I had yet to make the step into a multi-engine airplane.   This was an opportunity I had dreamed of.  A local corporate pilot had offered to let me fly with him to Houston and back from the small town in East Texas where I lived.

The trip was non eventful.   He piloted the plane to Houston and back and I marveled at the complexity of the beautiful sleek craft.   We broke out of the clouds at some four thousand feet and the small town where I lived was brilliantly illuminated in the darkness.  At this point however, I began to realize something was amiss.  Out of a sea of brilliant lights I noticed the one group of lights that were missing were the airport and runway lights.

We circled overhead where the runway was supposed to be and could not find even the faintest light.  Because of the pilot’s long experience flying in and out of the airport  he knew where he thought the runway was located.  He decided to try a landing without the runway lights being turned on.   A definite error in judgment to say the least.   I began to make suggestions about calling the local weather station and having them contact the airport manager.   He did not like my suggestions but rather decided to line up on the local truck stop which he knew to be just off the center line of the North- South runway.

As we began our final descent, I voiced my opinion that  we were too far to the west to be lining up on the runway. As our brilliant landing lights illuminated the western edge of the runway the Old Captain realized he had made a serious error in judgment.   Now it would take his superior skill to correct his error.

I remember looking out the windshield and seeing nothing that looked right.   All I could see were trees and a taxiway.   Suddenly  the small aircraft banked sharply and landed on the runway.   Our normal landing roll should have been somewhere around three thousand feet, but on this firm landing we rolled only  three hundred feet before we were nearly stopped.

After we deplaned at the hanger that evening, the Old Captain who had often voiced to me his profound disbelief in God suddenly told me of his emphatic belief that God had saved both of us that evening.

I knew God’s divine hand had stepped in and that I had encountered His  perfect will in my life.

As I reflect back on that evening, I remember a passage in God’s Word which has always been a comfort to me when circumstances seemed to be out of control in my life.    2 Kings Chapter 6:17 says, ” And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘ Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.’  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”   Elisha’s servant  stepped out of his tent and saw the enemy everywhere……they were surrounded.    He thought his life was over until God opened his eyes so he could see that God’s army was much larger than the one which had surround them.

As I look back over my life and remember things that have happened to me there is one thing which always stands out……….. God is always in control…….even when you are not….His army is always much larger than the one surrounding you.

God bless……..Steve

(C)2000
Steven A. Johnson