Thee End??

Twenty-eight years ago today, I thought that my life as I knew it was ending.  The previous week I had arrived at my parents home to stay there for awhile.  My job in California had ended with the shut-down of the 12 urgent care clinics I worked for.  It was my first time being laid-off and since I had spent three years in California; and I was not in a relationship; and I was almost 34 years old..... I decided to move back to Wisconsin. 

These may be all good reasons to think my life was ending, but not me!  I was looking forward to a new life and another change!  I was going to look for a good-ol' Wisconsin farm boy and get myself married! 

Well, before that occurred, I had one more obligation for my previous employer.  That obligation was to fly down to New Orleans and teach the business office staff down there how to follow up with California Medical (Medicaid) and get the companies last dollars for our services in California.  So Monday morning, August 12, 1985, I was on the plane to New Orleans.  Just a week or so earlier, a plane had crashed in Dallas due to wind shear or bad weather.  It always seems to happen that I have a flight booked shortly after some kind of airplane crash! 

So this day there was a nasty storm brewing in MSP (Minneapolis-St Paul) and we took off in it!  The plane was bucking and rolling and the lightning, thunder and rain were torrential as we climbed into the storm.  This is when I thought, "My life is going to end today!"  All I could do was pray, "God, if it's my time to go, it's my time.  I know where I'm going (heaven) and I'm OK!"  I don't recall praying anything other than that, because I truly believed there was no alternative than death. 

Uffda!  Somehow, sometime later, we broke through the storm clouds and continued southward.  Of course, I did make it to New Orleans.  Since then I have flown probably close to 100 or more flights and never once have I again experienced any severe storm like that.  Not even close! Go figure!  Or maybe, pilots are little more cautious now. 

Anyway, God had other plans for me other than "my life as I knew it was ending."  Or maybe, He did know "my life as I knew it was ending."   Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the story!  :)