Pilot in Control

Stella nervously clasped her hands together as the plane taxied down the runway. She had been excited when her parents said she and Brayden could fly by themselves to see their grandmother. But now Stella was nervous. She looked at her brother, who was eagerly watching the ground rush by. After they were airborne, Stella still didn't relax. "Do the engines sound funny?" she asked. "Should we be flying so high? What if there's another plane in the clouds?" Brayden tried to assure her that everything was fine. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I think they should try to stay away from the clouds.""Why don't you just go to the cockpit and take over the controls?" Brayden finally asked her. "You seem to think you know more about flying this plane than the pilot does." Stella scowled. "The pilot knows what he's doing," said Brayden, "and I think this is really cool!""Me too," said Stella, but she was very glad when they were finally back on solid ground."Did you have a good flight?" asked Grandma when she met them at the airport.Brayden nodded. "I did. But Stella was so nervous she could hardly sit still. I told her she should take over for the pilot." He grinned. "I'm glad she didn't though, because then I would have been the nervous one!""I guess so!" said Grandma. "I'm afraid we all lack trust in our Pilot from time to time."Stella looked surprised. "Are you afraid of flying too, Grandma?"Grandma shook her head. "I wasn't talking about the pilot of a plane. I meant Jesus, the Pilot of my life. I sometimes feel afraid when things in my life are hard or seem uncertain, but then I remember that Jesus is in control and that He promises to be with me and use my life for good no matter what happens. Trying to make my life work without Him would be like you trying to fly a plane." She gave Stella's shoulders a squeeze. "I think Brayden enjoyed the trip a lot more than you did, Stella, even though you were just as safe as he was. When we trust Jesus to be the Pilot, knowing He has saved us and promises to work everything out for good, our life trips are much better too."-Hazel W. Marett