So about a week ago I was given the opportunity to face a fear of mine; flying in a small airplane. I've had this fear for several years because of reports of small plane crashes. 2 of them included people whom I knew from a mutual friend/family member. I didn't know the person(s) who died personally, just the mutual friend/family member. Well, my husband and I have some friends who have been trying to get us to to fly with them for over a year now. I have kindly declined each time. This last week I was given the opportunity again.
Each of my children but one and my husband were all able to go for a ride in our friends' Husky airplane. When the last of the riders landed and it was only me and my 6 year old left, I was asked, "who's next?" My 6 year old looked up at me and said, "Mom! I can't go alone!" My heart started racing, the ringing in my ear got a little louder and as I looked into that cute face, how could I say no, again? I knew it was time to face my fear.
I was assured that once we started take off, if I was not handling it well, my friend would turn around immediately and bring me back. That was the only thing that kept me going. My cute little 6 year old was so excited, how could I turn us around just as we were starting?
The take off was smooth. Despite that, I was shaking like crazy and my hands were tingly. I forced myself to keep my eyes open and to point out things for my child to see. We started to fly directly toward the mountain. My friend/pilot said he wanted to show me something and asked how I was doing. I said I was fine but I really didn't believe that! Since I had mentioned to him that I've never seen a mountain goat in person, in the wild before, my friend wanted to help get my mind off of the flight to see if we could see mountain goats in the mountains we were flying over.
At this point I was praying silently, "Please Heavenly Father, don't let me die today! I need to live for my children and this child can't die today either! Please calm me down so I can try to enjoy this experience." In that moment, I realized I wasn't breathing like I should be so I took a couple deep breaths. Immediately my heart stopped racing, my hands stopped feeling tingly, and I was calm. I was finally able to look at the mountains and the beautiful view and actually enjoy the ride!
I want to liken this experience to a gospel principle. I know there are several that it could apply to but I want to do just one for now. Our Heavenly Father knew that we could not make it through this life alone. We need someone to help us through our trials and to also encourage us as we go. We need someone to point out the good and beautiful things in our lives. Those people are our family, our friends, our church leaders. We ourselves can also be that person to someone else. Once we rely on Him to get us where we need to be and we put all our trust in Him and in our Savior Jesus Christ, we can enjoy the beautiful ride! Life can be happy and full of wonderful experiences! We only need to trust our Heavenly Father and call upon Him to help us in our times of need and He will comfort us!
I am so grateful for the opportunity to face a fear! I'm grateful for what I learned from that experience. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows us individually and loves us individually! He knows our thoughts, our strengths, our fears and the desires of our hearts. He wants us to be happy! I love Him and my Savior Jesus Christ!
