Trust
The approach to Sydney’s Kingsford Airport last Monday was anything but smooth.
Rocking and rolling, just as we skirted the runway the pilot accelerated and lifted off for a go around. Images of Air France flew through my mind. Other images flew through the tummy of the little girl in the row ahead of me. As we tossed to and fro lifting off, I reached around the seats and said to the young Mom, “Give me the baby.” She was traveling with a toddler and a six-month old. It was the toddler who’d been sick.
Without a moment’s hesitation she handed the infant to me.
Full of grins and funny noises the little girl was not the least bit put off at being handed off. My glasses held endless fascination for her and my Kiwi aisle mate entertained her with weird facial expressions.
Meanwhile the aircraft continued to lurch to and fro as we circled for a second attempt at landing. I drew her close in a firm embrace, supporting her head and neck, not wanting to have her pulled from my arms if anything more happened.
With a dramatic thud, bounce, and thud again, we were on the ground.
My Kiwi mate said quietly over the roar of the engines, “She’s asleep.”
She was, face pressed into my neck, breathing smoothly.
Later as I reflected on this experience I marveled at the total trust this infant accorded me, a total stranger. She feared nothing and trusted everything. I thought, too, about the total trust with which 200 passengers accorded to the Air Canada crew flying that 767 and our trust in the technology that had brought has half way around the world. Life is fragile and filled with vulnerabilities. This is true. But trust allows us to live with both. Trust allows us to live.
There was a time when I would have said that this experience was a gift from God. I don’t think of God any longer as an entity “out there” dispensing blessings. Instead, post-conventional, progressive religious thought thinks of God as Life itself. What I experienced was God. As I was trusted and as I trusted I became a part of the Holy Being.
That was a gift.
Rocking and rolling, just as we skirted the runway the pilot accelerated and lifted off for a go around. Images of Air France flew through my mind. Other images flew through the tummy of the little girl in the row ahead of me. As we tossed to and fro lifting off, I reached around the seats and said to the young Mom, “Give me the baby.” She was traveling with a toddler and a six-month old. It was the toddler who’d been sick.
Without a moment’s hesitation she handed the infant to me.
Full of grins and funny noises the little girl was not the least bit put off at being handed off. My glasses held endless fascination for her and my Kiwi aisle mate entertained her with weird facial expressions.
Meanwhile the aircraft continued to lurch to and fro as we circled for a second attempt at landing. I drew her close in a firm embrace, supporting her head and neck, not wanting to have her pulled from my arms if anything more happened.
With a dramatic thud, bounce, and thud again, we were on the ground.
My Kiwi mate said quietly over the roar of the engines, “She’s asleep.”
She was, face pressed into my neck, breathing smoothly.
Later as I reflected on this experience I marveled at the total trust this infant accorded me, a total stranger. She feared nothing and trusted everything. I thought, too, about the total trust with which 200 passengers accorded to the Air Canada crew flying that 767 and our trust in the technology that had brought has half way around the world. Life is fragile and filled with vulnerabilities. This is true. But trust allows us to live with both. Trust allows us to live.
There was a time when I would have said that this experience was a gift from God. I don’t think of God any longer as an entity “out there” dispensing blessings. Instead, post-conventional, progressive religious thought thinks of God as Life itself. What I experienced was God. As I was trusted and as I trusted I became a part of the Holy Being.
That was a gift.
posted by He's Not Home (again) at 4:26 am
2 Comments:
Can't think of a better illustration for a sermon on discerning God in everyday life.
PJR
Excellent...........
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