Turbulence ~ A state of conflict or confusion
Have you ever had one of those gut feelings that something bad was going to happen? I haven’t had many of those premonitions but when I did and something bad actually did happen I didn’t handle it well in the past. I always allowed my emotions to take control of bad situations and basically freaked out. For someone who naturally suffers from anxiety, it is easy to do.
I woke up the day I left for my trip with a very bad feeling in my stomach. I just KNEW something was going to go wrong with my flight. I had no idea what that something was, but something. And then there were the comments my dad made a few days before I left…”What if something happens at the airport? I have a feeling you aren’t going to make it back.” WHAT??? Thanks, dad.
I have never in my life had a fear of flying. I actually thoroughly enjoy it. Even the 13 hour flights. When I was younger I expressed my desire to my parents that I wanted to take flying lessons. I bought a couple of books. I watched Top Gun 700 times. And then life happened and I never made it happen. I have been blessed to fly quite a bit over the years even though I never made it to the cockpit. It still amazes me how that big contraption can stay in the air like that with 350 people and all of their belongings held within and make it to the other side of the world.
I took a different route to Japan than I had in the past. It was a direct flight from LA and when I heard the captain announce that it was only going to be an 11-hour flight I felt a bit of relief. As much as I love to travel, my back doesn’t appreciate being cramped up like a sardine that long. I was seated between two rather nice, quiet gentlemen. I prefer the window seat because at least there you can lean against the side of the plane and sleep a bit better. My second choice is aisle because you are free to move about without bothering your neighbors to get up. But this time I was in the middle. I can deal with that as long as my neighbors aren’t obnoxious. Thankfully mine were not.
A nice, older Japanese man occupied the aisle seat. He spoke fluent English and told me he traveled to the US and Mexico for his work. He was going “home to the mountains.” I learned by watching him that alcohol was free on this particular flight (I have no idea why) and that he enjoyed IPA beer because he ordered one without paying. I copied him later and added a red wine just because. My window seat neighbor was an American gentlemen also traveling for work. I learned that he was married and had four children and this was his first time to Japan. That made me smile because I remember my first time with much gratitude. I assumed he was closer to my age, possibly a few years younger. He also caught on to the free alcohol situation and at one point the three us were each enjoying an IPA at the same time. There was something about that I found pretty cool although of course I kept that to myself. An unspoken connection at 40,000 feet over the Pacific where pretty much everything in your life is in God’s hands until the wheels touch the ground again is comforting.
So, we made it to Tokyo. Almost. The plane attempted to land at Narita airport but was forced to try again due to extreme winds. There were several announcements on the flight warning us of possible turbulence and as we approached our destination they were more frequent. Turbulence doesn’t bother me much either. That is just part of flying. It was kind of bad I will admit but when the pilot didn’t land on the second attempt my heart sank. After traveling for going on three days I was READY to get there. I started praying. I had no idea what was about to happen but I gave it to God. It is amazing the peace you feel in the middle of a mess when you do that with your entire heart. I asked him to take care of me because I knew he was in control, not me.
Psalm 86:6-7 “Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.”
We could not keep circling the airport and attempt more landings because we needed to refuel. So, we were diverted to an airport in a city nearly 300 miles away. I tried to think of it like this…I had never been to Osaka and now that could be a red pin on my map. There were questions though. I started talking to my American neighbor about it. Will the plane refuel and return to Narita? Or will we be forced to take another flight back to Tokyo? He told me he didn’t think either of those options was going to happen. His response, “I have a feeling we will have to take trains.” TRAINS??? “Okay God, I have never taken a train in Japan by myself. Please don’t make this happen.” Well, God did allow that to happen. Thankfully my neighbor who shocked me with the train idea was going to be along with me for the rest of my journey. God doesn’t always give you the answers you WANT but he always gives you what you NEED. I followed my friend as we deplaned. We did not even arrive at a gate in Osaka. We had to take a bus to the terminal. And there my train adventure began.
I learned a lot from this experience. The most important thing I learned was that just because you have a friend in Japan who will take care of all of your needs, you need a back up plan. Traveling in a foreign country with little money (and no foreign currency), and no communication plan besides praying I can connect to Wi-Fi so I could Skype my friend was ridiculously irresponsible and unprepared. My new friend had a work phone that magically seemed to work though. He was kind to let me try and call my friend. Nori was sitting at Narita airport in Tokyo waiting for me and I was 300 miles south. The call didn’t go through to her at first but there was at least hope because I was now friends with someone who could help me. We followed instructions and went through customs in Osaka, then grabbed our bags. My friend retrieved his bag before me so he went to find the ticketing counter to try and get more information and told me he would look for me there. When I arrived there a large crowd was following a lady with a sign that had our flight number written on it so I followed. My friend found me as he promised and we soon learned the news that indeed there were no more flights to either airport in Tokyo and that we would be given money to catch a train. At that point I was able to connect to Skype and informed Nori about this situation. Her response? “Train???” Same as me…she was a little terrified for me, I think.
So at that point my friend who I had been sitting with for over 12 hours on an airplane and wandering around with in Osaka airport, introduced himself to me and shook my hand. “What is your name? I’m Tim.” At that point I laughed hysterically. It is amazing how much you can go through with a person and not even think to ask their name! I was exhausted and distraught and a name and a handshake gave me relief. It was his first time in Japan so he knew nothing about the train systems and he doesn’t speak Japanese either. We decided that we would do this together. We were going to the same general area in Tokyo. Why? Because God put an angel in my path. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.
The train station was directly outside the airport. That is the point where I truly felt like I was in a foreign place. Finding someone who speaks and understands fluent English is like finding a needle in a haystack. And then there’s all the people everywhere buying tickets too and a gazillion different train companies and bright lights and signs all in Japanese. We had no clue what to do. And then we bumped into some others who had been on our flight and got in line with them. We asked someone who worked there as he was passing by if we were in the right place if we wanted to go to Tokyo. He said, “Yes.” And then he said, “Follow me to this shorter line and I will help you buy the tickets.” This person was another Angel in my path. He was patient with us and worked the machine and explained that we would have two stops. He gave us each three tickets and told us to keep them until the end. I put them in my pocket and trusted “Tim” to lead the way. We found our train and the three hour journey began. There were no empty seats so we stood amongst our luggage and laughed at our situation. We realized another person standing right beside us had been on our flight as well. We were all a bit lost but we felt comfort. There truly is safety in numbers. “Me too” moments, I am convinced, are where the most powerful connections are made. When you have been through something someone else has been through, you become united. We feel safe. We are in this TOGETHER.
The train stopped and we were not sure if we were supposed to get off yet. (I REALLY need to learn Japanese if I am going to keep coming here). Tim got out and looked for someone to ask. A few minutes later the door shut. Tim was still outside. My heart began beating so fast and I thought for a brief moment we were leaving without him and I had his bags with me. Then the door magically opened. Relief! He found out this was not our stop. We continued and managed to get out where we were supposed to catch a bullet train. We had been warned earlier at the airport that the last bullet train was at 7:30. That apparently was not the case, which was a lesson that you cannot always believe what you hear. Safely on our last leg to Toyko, we took a selfie. He took a nap and I prayed that Nori would find me at Tokyo station. Tim let me text her on his phone because mine only works with Wi-Fi, which I didn’t have except at the airport and train station. I just knew she told me to get to Tokyo station so that is where I went.
We made it. Nori sent a text to Tim’s phone and said to find her at a particular exit and to show the message to someone to help us. When I saw her husband I felt like I had made it “home.” He called my name and waved. I fumbled around searching for that last ticket I had placed safely in my pocket but it wasn’t there. Since we had to turn in our ticket in order to leave I thought to myself, “Setiously!?!” Then I found it in my purse. Tim was taking a taxi to his hotel so we parted ways there. I gave him a big hug. My friend I shared a beer with up in the sky had no idea he was going to be taking a train with me from Osaka to Tokyo, stayed with me the entire time. I don’t know when I have ever been more grateful in my life to have a stranger become a friend. We both said that if we had not been together we probably wouldn’t have taken the train that night alone. A hotel stay and a flight the next morning was the next option. But we made it, together.
Thank you God for placing Angels in my path. You know just what I need and exactly when I need it. You test my faith and I am growing stronger daily when I trust you. You force me to rely on you when everything is falling apart to teach me that I cannot do it all on my own.
James 1:12 “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” Amen
Long post so I appreciate if you read to this point. This is not a well put together message as it is 1:00am 24 hours after this whole experience happened and instead of sleeping I am jet lagged and I have already lost many of the details from my adventure. It is one of those “you had to be there” type ordeals. Thanks for being there Tim! 🙂
As for everyone messaging me about the Earthquakes…I am okay here near Tokyo in Chiba. They are apparently happening much farther south. I have actually not watched any news so you probably know more about what is going on than me…but I am fine. God is making sure of that. A state of turbulence can turn into a state of calmness when you let go of fear trust God.
Blessings,
Stacey ~ iamalive
(Depending on what type of device you are viewing this on, the selfie might appear upside down and I am not sure why. It kind of summarizes the entire experience! 😉 )
