De-Iced
by Sandra Byrd
Last week I spent many days in chilly Denver, reconnecting with my close friend from college, catching up with a couple who has loved and spiritually guided me for more than two decades, and enjoying writing friends, old and new. But the culmination of everything I learned and experienced occurred just after I’d spent several hours parked in a cramped plane on a busy tarmac.
The plane had some mechanical problems so we waited, and waited, and waited. Of course, I was sitting just ahead of Engine No. One, which had the problem, so I spent time vacillating between worry that the engine would blow mid-air no matter what mechanic signed off and trying to ignore the loud man behind me sharing unwelcome details of his weekend conquest. Finally, the pilot said we were ready to go but we had one more thing to do before taking off – we needed to be de-iced.
I’d never been in a plane while it was being de-iced. The pilot drove the lumbering jet to an off-tarmac area and wove in between several cherry pickers fitted with de-icing foam. They sprayed the plane down from fore to aft. Somehow, the tiniest, unseen film of ice left on the plane, on the wings, in particular, can cause the plane to crash as it’s trying to gain the lift required for flight.
Within minutes of being de-iced, we took off, disallowing the possibility of more ice before flight.
As we climbed toward our cruising altitude I thought about how I had just been “de-iced” at the conference. Cold droplets of fatigue, fear, envy, and anxiety can harden over my heart and my mind in an unbelievably short period of time. At the conference, a small handful of amazing speakers had shared how the Lord was working in their lives, how He’d loved them, rebuked them, encouraged them, and led them down runways they had never expected nor could they have anticipated. I’d spent time reading scripture and praying with friends. When it was time to return home, I’d been de-iced and was ready to head onto the new flight paths He had plotted in advance for me. But I’d been duly reminded. Spiritual ice builds up quickly and invisibly. The smallest film can have dire consequence. I need to stay in warm, constant communion with Him, His Word, and His people. He has freed me in unexpected and amazing ways; He has renewed my strength. I am soaring.
… but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31