A Mysterious, Beautiful Fog

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth -

Put out my hand and touched the Face of God.

From poem High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Sitting by a Piper Pawnee C, which I flew as an aerial applicator

Dang! I thought to myself as I woke up at 5 am that Sunday morning in the summer of 1980. I had hoped and prayed to awaken to the sound of a strong wind or perhaps rain outside. But besides a few crickets, all I heard was silence. I peered anxiously out my window and could see the stars shining brightly. It looked like a beautiful day for crop dusting, and therein laid my dilemma.

One week earlier my pastor had asked if I would read Scripture at church on this Sunday morning. I was excited and honored to be asked, and readily accepted. However, even as I accepted I felt trepidation about asking my boss at the airport if I could take off a couple of hours to go to church. He was a stern man and not a churchgoer. And in the business of crop dusting you flew whenever the weather was agreeable, no questions asked. But I figured sometime during the week I would find an opportunity (and the nerve) to ask for time off.

Well, you’ve probably guessed that one week later, on the Sunday I was scheduled to read at church (my name was probably in the program too), I hadn’t yet asked my boss. Okay, not the most responsible, I’ll admit. But I was for the most part afraid of my boss, and especially of what his reaction would likely be to my request (like maybe come at me with an axe or something! Maybe I’m exaggerating, but only a little)!

As I pedaled my bicycle down to the airport, which was only one mile from my home, I contemplated and prayed about how I might handle this. Finally, like any good procrastinator, I decided I would fly a couple of loads and then ask my boss closer to 10:30 am (when church began). I reasoned (okay, hoped against hope) that MAYBE he would be more willing to give me a couple of hours off, if I worked a few hours first.

Later that morning as I nosed my airplane back towards the airport, I knew that show-time had arrived and I either had to ask for time off or take the coward’s route – to just let it go and then tell my pastor I couldn’t get off work. Oh man, I had been so sure I should accept my pastor’s invitation and was genuinely sorry I had let it go this far. I prayed that somehow this would turn out well despite my bungling.

As I approached the airport, I could not have been prepared for what would happen next. I noticed a few
wisps of fog moving up from the river, which was about ½ mile from the airport. No big deal, I thought, as this late in the morning the fog probably wouldn’t amount to much; fog was rarely an issue, and even then only around dawn. But I had no sooner landed my airplane when the fog closed in so thick that there was no way we could fly. I was still processing this when my boss stunned me by telling me that I might as well go home until the fog lifted (he easily could have found work for me to do at the airport).

What could I say? This was no coincidence. The timing was too perfect. This was a very personal response from God to my desperate prayers, and a rescue from my mishandling of this situation. I raced home, changed clothes, and made it to church just in time. Interestingly, the fog stayed during the entire church service! After church, the fog lifted and I was flying again by early afternoon. I don’t think I ever told my boss about any of this.

Slipping the surly bonds of Earth in my Piper Cub!

Now, more than 30 years later, I clearly remember the events of that morning. In my heart, I know I experienced a miracle - a small one, perhaps, but a miracle, nonetheless. Through it I learned something about God’s wonderful nature and was drawn closer to him.

Perhaps this seems a small deal. And it may beg the question of why other prayers seemingly go unanswered – big prayers; life and death prayers. I don’t have all the answers but I believe the Apostle Paul was speaking to this when he said: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7). These verses instruct us to thank God even before we know the outcome of our prayers; that we are not to be anxious but to trust that no matter how he answers, he is good and will give us a supernatural peace.

God may not always send a “fog” to rescue me from difficult situations, but I am slowly learning that he is always near, he is in control, and I can trust him in any situation.