A Miracle at Twenty-Two Thousand Feet

A Miracle at Twenty-Two Thousand Feet

Written June 6, 2013

Yesterday, as I was boarding a very small commercial plane (one seat on my side of the aisle and two seats on the other side) for my return trip from Long Island, a woman with her two five year-old girls boarded right after me.  The mom sat next to one of her little girls diagonally behind my seat and the other little girl sat directly behind me.

The mom spoke unusually loud and aggressively to her little girls. “Yes, I know you’re tired and I’m tired too, so just sit there and be quiet!  No, you can’t eat now!” were among the many harsh statements to her girls. 

My initial reaction was that I was angry at how this mom spoke to those precious little ones and my impulse was to turn around and tell her so.  Then, her daughter behind me started kicking my seat and slamming on her tray table. I jumped as I was startled by these actions. Again I felt anger, but I didn’t turn around.

Enter the Course:  I closed my eyes and said to myself, “Nothing real can be threatened. (The love within this woman and her girls thrives within them as it does in me.) Nothing unreal exists. (These statements by the mom and the kicking of my seat do not exist) Herein lies the Peace of God.” I repeated this statement over and over again as I visualized the light within each of them and myself. 

Following the repetition of this initial Course statement, and with my eyes still closed visualizing the four of us I said to myself, “Rest in peace,” and “We are love.”

When I was done, I turned around and in a soft voice and a smile said to the mom, “You and your girls must be very tired.”

“Yes,” she replied.  “We’ve been up since 4:00 AM and we’ll still have an hour ride to my sister’s after we land in Rochester.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said.  “I hope that you’ll be able to get some rest now.”

What happened next is the miracle.  I no longer felt angry.  The little girl sitting next to her mom fell asleep.  The mom began talking more softly and gently to the little girl behind me who soon fell asleep.  And the mom then sat there for the remainder of the flight quietly reading.