HE
WILL CARRY YOU
May
he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion
(Psalm 20:2).
As I was preparing to leave from Seattle to fly to Palm Springs with my daughter in February of 1998, I felt a sense of apprehension about stepping on a plane as an MCS sufferer, knowing there was the potential danger of being exposed to any number of toxic substances. The anxiety was particularly acute because I knew that that if I became ill from an exposure there would be no way of escape. In light of this, I called a friend the night before my flight to ask for prayer. Teri prayed for me, and afterward her encouragement to me was: "Remember Janine, no matter what happens on the flight Jesus will carry you."
On February 6, my husband drove my daughter meto the airport. I made it through the airport without any chemical exposures, and once I boarded the plane the first part of our flight was rather uneventful. As we neared our destination however, my so far perfect flight turned into an MCS sufferer’s nightmare. We hit a severe storm, which resulted in three aborted landing attempts. After each failed attempt, the plane shot back up in the air, each time allowing toxic fumes that smelled like jet fuel to enter the cabin through the ventilation system. Inhaling the vapors caused me to become very fatigued, dizzy, and disoriented.
The decision was made to re-route our plane to the Ontario airport, which is an hour and a half drive from Palm Springs. Upon arriving in Ontario, the airlines decided to shuttle all the passengers on a diesel bus to get us to our final destination. Yikes! I couldn’t handle the thought of being exposed to any more toxic fumes at this point since I was already very ill. I felt as though I had been drugged and was having a hard time functioning. In the physical state I was in, I wondered how on earth my eight-year old daughter and I were going to get to Palm Springs safely. All of a sudden the words of my friend Teri rang in my mind: "Jesus will carry you." Those words gave me the hope and strength I needed to carry on at one of the most difficult moments of my life.
The words of my friend Teri proved to be true. The next several hours God showed His magnificent power and faithfulness to me as He worked out all the details to get us to Palm Springs in spite of the fact that I felt brain dead. The first provision came in the way of the airlines offering us our own private shuttle van, once I explained I could not tolerate a diesel bus due to my health condition. Another blessing came when a total stranger helped us retrieve a luggage cart from clear across the airport. Once we had the cart, my daughter was a blessing as she pushed it around until we reached our shuttle.
For reasons beyond my human comprehension, God allowed one of my worst
nightmares to come true—being trapped on an airplane with dangerous fumes and
nowhere to run! On this earth, God
does not always spare us from pain and suffering, but He does promise to help us
through whatever difficulties we may find ourselves in if we call on Him to help
us. Psalm 22:24 says: "For
he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not
hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
Whatever challenging situation you may find yourself in today, I encourage you to call on the name of Jesus and He will carry you through!