Unemployed.  

Again.

It stung, as you can imagine.

But, let me fill you in on some of the backstory that might help you understand why we weren’t devastated.  About a year earlier, Jeff and I were in Barnes and Noble with the kids, something we did often, when Jeff noticed a book that felt like an answer to prayer.   Interestingly, it was prayer he hadn’t really begun to pray, it was more like a seed only just beginning to push through the soil of his heart.

I told you guys back at the beginning of our story that Jeff, as a kid, used to ride his bike to the airport in Clearwater, FL to watch the planes land and take off; he would do this for hours.  He never felt there was a clear path for him to become a pilot but the desire God placed in his little heart all those years before was still there, it was just dormant.  That night in the bookstore, he picked up a book called “Becoming an Airline Pilot” and felt, for the first time, that maybe, just maybe it wasn’t too late.  This was complicated because we were happy in Iowa and thriving in ministry, but it speaks to something I’ve said before; often times God will place a desire in our hearts when we’re young and it will unfold as we grow.  In our case, Jeff wanted to fly so badly, but God had some other plans for him to live out first.  I think because the flying thing didn’t happen when he was younger, he assumed it was never going to happen, but he couldn’t get away from the “maybe someday” nagging feeling.  He bought that book not knowing for sure why he was even buying it.  He took it home and read every single word.  Once he’d read the book, he began to pray in earnest; he prayed every single day for God to give him the opportunity to fly. 

He was thirty-three at this point.

 We had three kids and bills to pay.  

It was a very bold prayer, but he couldn’t help himself; it was like he was compelled to pray about it. He spent an entire year praying every morning asking God if he could remain in the center of his will and be an airline pilot.  He prayed God would give us both a peace about it and that he would begin opening doors to make it possible.

Fast forward to where we left off last time, the Pastor walked into Jeff’s office and told him he was leaving and that meant we likely would too.   Jeff was sad to be parting ways with the Pastor, because we dearly loved him and his family, but instead of worrying about what was next, he came home with such excitement because he KNEW without a doubt God was making a way.  

Fun fact, in the book Jeff read about becoming a pilot it talked of several things that needed to happen before you would be considered hirable.  Jeff was limited in the things he could do since he was working as a youth pastor and choir director, but one thing he could do was drop some weight to get within the range required.  Back then you had to be within a certain weight range to be a pilot.   As so many of us do, Jeff had put on a few pounds over the years, so he decided as a way to show his commitment to the prayer he was praying, he would lose the weight.  So, every morning, really early, he would get up and walk the neighborhood, most mornings it was still dark out.  He put himself on a low carb diet; back then Atkins was all the rage, and he stuck to it.  It didn’t take too long and he’d dropped fifty pounds, and that put him in the correct weight range.  He told me those walks were a perfect prayer time for him.  I believe those walks, and his commitment to do whatever he had to, was what it took for Jeff’s heart and soul to be ready for what lie ahead. 

It was 2004.  Jeff had dropped fifty pounds, he’d been praying every day, he’d read everything he could get his hands on about becoming a pilot and now, seemingly, his opportunity had arrived.  

We were at a crossroad, so much was riding on every decision.  It wasn’t like we were making a lateral move or seeking a promotion, we were entirely changing the course of our lives.  Were we crazy?  I guess some people thought that, but, honestly, in those very unsure days, we had such peace. 

Jeff was going to become a pilot.

The first thing we had to figure out was where to go to training.  There were several training centers, but we needed one that would help him get through quickly because we had an entire family that depended on him.   I knew I could work, and I did, but he provided the main income and we had to figure out how we would survive while he went to school.  Survival meant a place to live and to figure out where the kids would go to school; so many things to consider.  I don’t think you’re ever really prepared for major life changes like this, I mean, you can try to prepare, but there are always things that come up you don’t think about.   We knew there would be so many decisions to make and we felt the pressure to get it as “right” as we possibly could.  But there were so many variables we couldn’t control, so we focused on something we could control, where Jeff would go to flight training.

It was probably March or so when Jeff told me about Delta Connection Academy.  It was located in Florida and they would fly you down for free to tour the school and talk to them about attending.   I know some of you are thinking, “I thought he worked for American, not Delta.”  Hang in there, I’ll explain.   We decided to take Delta up on their free flight and tour the school, so we made our way to the airport in Des Moines.  We checked in, went through security, and made our way to the gate.  We didn’t really understand how flying “stand by” worked but we understood enough about it to panic a little when we saw so many passengers trying to get on the same plane.  We walked to the gate agent and told her we were there to fly, she punched a few keys on the computer and told us to stand to the side while she boarded the plane.  She then explained we would get a seat after all the paying passengers were boarded, and after all the people who signed in before us (also flying standby) were boarded.  We soon discovered we were number forty one and forty two on the list of standbys.  The idea of getting on an already crowded plane seemed impossible, but she gave us some good advice that day, advice I’ve taken with me whenever I fly standby…

“Don’t walk away until the plane backs away from the gate, you never know what could happen.”

And so, we did exactly what she said, we waited.  Jeff reminded me as we stood there, feeling a little discouraged about our plans, if God want this for us, he will work it all out. 

He grabbed hold of my hand, and we stood there together, listening, as the gate agent called out name after name of people who had a seat on the flight, none of them were ours.