Land the plane!


Do you have a problem with motion sickness? I do. The other day I was on a plane coming back from a weekend trip, and the process of landing was truly miserable...this particular airline seems to me, doesn't really use its air conditioning capabilities to their maximum potential...so it was hot...the airport is in an area surrounded by mountains, so the crosswinds were pretty choppy, and the ride was rough...as I sat in the middle seat, I tried to take deep breaths, think pleasant thoughts, and stave off the nausea that was growing within me...my mantra was "Land the plane, land the plane, land the plane..."



We weren't truly flying, and we weren't on the ground yet, but were suspended in the choppy uncomfortable transition from flying to landing. Many Christian writers would call this an example of 'liminal space,' a place that is betwixt and between, a kind of no man's land; or even, the threshold between where you are now, and where you're going. Candidly, I dislike the landing process...it feels rough and choppy and vulnerable to me. When the engines begin to grind down and the landing gear drops, I sometimes feel that the plane will simply stop in mid-air and drop to the ground like a rock...it unnerves me.



If you're wondering why I'm focused on planes, it isn't because I have a fear of flying that needs to be worked out here in the community...it's because I just came from my Mom's bedside, where it looks very much to me like she's in the very choppy and vulnerable landing space between this life and the next...and the feeling is frightening to me. Her bed has been lowered to the level of a toddler's bed, to protect her from falling...she fell the other day and broke her elbow and pelvis, and we're facing surgery on Monday. I don't know how to describe what it's like to sit and hold her hand, and know that there is absolutely nothing I can do for her, except be present. I want my Mom to stay in the air, and fly as gracefully into the afterlife as a plane flys through the air...but she's in the landing pattern, and I find myself praying "Land the plane, land the plane, land the plane..."



I know that this is a very personal post, and perhaps not very much about contemplative prayer, but I hope you'll indulge my fear of landing, and pray for my Mom's safe arrival to her final destination. One of my dearest friends and trusted advisors always refers to our life as: "this one wild and precious life...", and as I watch my Mom's life draw to a close, I am reminded all the more how precious is our life here on earth. Treasure your life, and the lives of those that you love.

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