Nicole's First Flight!

There comes a time in everyone's life when you must stop running from your fears and just face them head on. For quite some time now, God has been gently pushing me to step out in faith and face a great fear I have had all my life.

I have never in my life stepped foot on an airplane, and I never have had any desire to do so. But recently, while working through the Beth Moore bible study, Believing God, God showed me an area of my life that needed a little attention. This particular bible study is about having faith, real and active faith, in God. You know, the kind of faith that puts on hands and feet and gets moving. As I was studying and trying to understand the direction God wanted me to go, I realized there was something standing in the way. FEAR! Not fear of God's direction, but a fear that I wouldn't be able to accept the calling He may ask of me because of other fears that held a tight grip on my life.

There is a reason I have never flown. Actually, there is a LONG list of reasons. They are (in no particular order):
1. fear of heights
2. fear of wide open spaces
3. fear of closed in spaces
4. fear of a pilot I've never met who may or may not really be all that qualified to fly a large aircraft, and there's really no knowing if he's awake or asleep in there or if he's DRIVING DRUNK! (Yes, I have seen that on the news!)
5. fear of the germs that everyone on the plane near me will be breathing on me which is destined to land me some terrible illness
6. fear of crashing into the mountain up ahead (or a building)

That's all I can think of right now, but you get the idea. The list is LONG and BIG!! But the fact is, with all these fears gripping my core being, there is no way I can fully be used of God to do anything He asks of me.

One terrible thought I had was that God may someday ask me to go to another country (or even to the other side of our country), where I would need to fly, and I would simply have to tell Him, "I'm sorry God. I can't do that job. I don't fly." That sounds easy enough to do. But let me tell you, I have had enough experience arguing with God that I KNOW He will ALWAYS WIN! Which means, He would very politely tell me, "I really don't care if you don't fly. Go." So I decided that I really needed to overcome this fear before He really DID ask me to do something big, so at least I would be prepared.

Something that God gave me through this bible study is that living in fear is the OPPOSITE of living in faith! I cannot say I am living in complete faith when I am allowing the devil to convince me that there are things I have to fear.

*LIVING IN FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF LIVING IN FAITH*

I decided I was just going to have to face those fears and get up in a plane. Thankfully, I have a dear, dear friend, Linda, who's husband, Bob, happens to be a pilot. He owns 2 small planes, so I asked Linda if he would be willing to take me up for a quick flight. All plans were made, and all we had to wait for was a good day - and a day that he wasn't working his regular job. That took nearly a month. But let me tell you, through this last month, I have prayed through this fear of flying like you would not believe. I have used verses to guide my prayers. Some of the ones I prayed were:

~"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

~"You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head." Psalm 139:5

~"This is My command - BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! DO NOT BE AFRAID or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

~"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

You better know I prayed through all of those verses! God showed me that I was NOT to live in fear, but to TRUST Him. He showed me that, no matter where I am, He goes before me and behind me and had His hand right on top of my head. I can't get away from Him. I am commanded to be strong and courageous, because He is always with me. And I prayed that God would uphold that plane (and me) with His right hand! (Yes, I know there are scientific reasons that a plane stays in the air, but scientific reasons can go wrong. I prayed for GOD to hold me up!)

When Bob called me and said that it looked like a good time to fly, I was all prayed up and wasn't even nervous! OK, maybe slightly. But only nervous, and NOT fearful! I was actually excited! Little Man and Brient wanted to fly with me, but the girls opted to stay on the ground and play with Linda's kids.

We got out to the plane, and, well, here are all the pictures of my fun ride!!

The very cool red plane we flew in.

My side-kick and I.

My fearless pilot and co-pilot. I think I was more worried about the two of them sitting up front together than the plane ride!

Truly it was a beautiful view from 2500ft. in the air! 

And after we landed, my side-kick wanted to take more pictures. So here are some for my scrapbook!

It was really an amazing morning. I was so very thankful to Bob for taking this fraidy cat up for a ride in his plane. I was thankful that he took time out of his day to help me overcome a lifelong fear. And I was so thankful to my sweet friend, Linda who watched my girls while I was up in the air. My girls had a blast with Linda's kids. 

Here are our beautiful girls.

So now I am ready. I have tackled my fears of flying, and now I am set if God ever asks me to fly somewhere to do His work. I know there will be other things that will come up in my life that will need to be met head on, and I am ready. If I can overcome this, I can overcome anything! 

"Everywhere You go, I wanna go. Will you take me with You?

Everywhere You lead, I wanna be by Your side.

Everyone You love, I wanna love just like You love me.

Everywhere you go, I wanna go there with You."

~Third Day