I was recently on an International flight to Mexico City. At the time we were to be landing I realized we were still airborne with no signs of having begun descent. Right then, the Captain came on the overhead with a very serious tone and said with no preamble… “We have enough fuel to get to Leon. Mexico City airport is closed for severe weather. Please do not panic or give the flight attendants a hard time. I will deal harshly with anyone who does. I will update you when we land.” *click*
And it began. Is Leon 30 minutes or 3 hours from here? Would the weather also be severe there and will we be rerouted again? Does Leon even have a runway big enough for this plane? Do we ACTUALLY have enough fuel to get there… why would he start with that? If that major airport is closed how many other planes are ALSO rerouting and what if there is a crash in another airport that is unprepared for this volume of traffic.
But the most chilling realization was this. I am NOT in control of what happens next. I am one of many passengers, on a fast moving metal tube, roughly 30,000 feet above the ground, and apparently just above a very raucous natural light show. My agency had been revoked. And in this moment I only had one place to turn…
To God.
(Spoiler alert: we got there safely, reevaluated, took back off and landed in CDMX 4 hours late, but alive… thank God.)
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We now live in a world that has built-in ways to avoid, shelve, mask and hide basic human suffering (to the point of even trying mitigate all discomfort at all) in such a convincing way that we actually believe we have control. But… it’s all an illusion.
Google Maps (or Waze for some) makes us believe we can control our arrival times, but says nothing of the drunk driver beside us.
DoorDash saves us from having to get off the couch to get food, but does nothing to control the uncooked spinach that will give you Salmomella.
Sadly, too many people know that giving 100% of yourself at work doesn’t control the company wide layoffs when they come.
Even a lifetime of savings and fiscal responsibility doesn’t control a couple major life events and a few bad turns of fate.
We think (or want to believe, at least) that we control our weight, our health, our careers, our families, our safety, our futures… but we just, simply, don’t.
People before the middle of last century all knew this, and felt it, and saw how helpless we are in this world… and they knew they needed God.
I’m afraid we’ve numbed ourselves, closed our eyes and turned our faces so far in the opposite direction that are ignorant of it… and would do well to remember it.
And hopefully, we can do it without having to go through something life threatening to do so.
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Edit:
In what ways are current generations shelter?
Let’s put some things in context:
- HUNGER: For the first time in history, hunger is not our issue, overeating is. Real, true, malnutrition, Famine isn’t even a consideration in 95% of the world. We (Westerners) are so averse to hunger that we carry snacks in our bags to make sure of the urge even hits we can quell it. Quick bites, fast food, coffee spots and convenience stores abound so (God forbid) we don’t have to deal with a hunger pang.
- BOREDOM: From endless channels with perpetual content to millions of years of Youtube videos uploaded annually to everyone’s lives streamed simultaneously, not a zepto second is unmanaged or unfillable.
- DEATH: No body wants to kill an animal to eat it. We can’t fathom the thought, much less could we do it. But every generation prior to our grandparents did it… and Kiley as kids.
- DEATH PT2. Sure we still see it and experience it, but generally speaking funeral parlors and mortuaries and paramedics exist so that the general public barely have to stare it in the face. The (very) vast majority of our ancestors had only themselves and their neighbors to deal with it. That’s sad, but true.
- PHYSICAL PAIN: Have a headache? Tylenol. Belly ache? Take this. Heartburn? Stuffy nose? Brittle nails? Big bite? You name it? Let’s get that (very dealable) pain out of the way.
- EMOTIONAL PAIN: I’m all for mental health providers offering real solutions… but the amount of SSRIs, anti-depressants, anti-anxieties given to people just looking to numb from reality… is absurd.
And I believe this is one of the key reasons people are avoiding God…Why reach/cry out for help when we “have it all under control?”