A business man was late for his flight. He reached
the boarding gate just before it closed. Sweating and out of breath, he scanned
his boarding pass at the counter and quickly made his way to the plane.
Arriving at his seat, he greeted his companions for
the next few hours: a middle-aged woman sitting at the window, and a little
girl sitting on the aisle seat. After stowing his bag above he took his place
between them.
After the flight took off, he began a conversation with
the little girl. She appeared to be about the same age as his daughter and was
busy with her colouring book. He asked her a few usual questions, such as her
age (eight), her hobbies (cartoons and drawing), as well as her favourite animal
(horses are pretty, but she loved cats). He found it strange that such a young
girl would be travelling alone, but he kept his thoughts to himself and decided
to keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay.
About an hour into the flight, the plane suddenly
began experiencing extreme turbulence. The pilot came over the PA system and
told everyone to fasten their seat belts and remain calm, as they had encountered
rough weather.
Several times over the next half hour the plane made
drastic dips and turns, shaking all the while. Some people began to cry, and
many- like the woman in the window seat were praying intently. The man was
sweating and clenching his seat tightly as he could. He exclaimed “Oh my God!”
with each increasingly violent shake of the plane.
Meanwhile the little girl was seating quietly beside
him in her seat. Her colouring book and crayons were put away neatly in the
seat pocket in front of her, and her hands were calmly resting on her legs.
Incredibly, she didn’t seem to be worried at all.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the turbulence
ended. The pilot came on a few minutes later to apologize for the bumpy ride
and to announce that they would be landing soon. As the plane began its
descent, the man said to the little girl, “You are just a little girl, but I have
never met a braver person in all my life! Tell me, dear, how is it that you
remained so calm while all of us adults were so afraid?”
Looking him in the eyes, she said, “My father is the
pilot, and he’s taking me home.”
Moral
Lesson:
If we recognize the power of faith... we won’t look
for miracles. We would recognise that we ourselves are all the miracle we need.
