from Living Waters Publication

Miracle on the Hudson

New York Governor David Paterson pronounced it a “Miracle on the Hudson.”

He was referring to yesterday’s landing of the crippled US Airways jetliner into the Hudson River after the plane struck a flock of birds just after takeoff at LaGuardia Airport, apparently disabling the engines. Due to the heroic efforts of the pilot, all 155 aboard were saved.

Robert Bea, a civil engineer who co-founded UC Berkeley’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, said he could think of few pilots as well-situated to bring the plan down safely than the one in the cockpit of Flight 1549.

The pilot, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, CA, is a former fighter pilot for the US Air Force and has been flying for US Airways since 1980. Sullenberger also runs a safety consulting firm and, ironically, has been studying the psychology of keeping airline crews functioning even in the face of crisis.

In this crisis, Sullenberger proved to be the man for the job!

The pilot “did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out,” said NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off, and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board, and he assured us there was not. He was the last one up the aisle and he made sure that there was nobody behind him.”

“You look at his training, you look at his experience. It was just the right pilot at the right time in charge of that plane that saved so many lives,” said Candace Anderson, a resident of Sullenberger’s hometown in Danville. *

Although this world is headed on a crash course (2 Peter 3:10), we, too, have a Pilot who can safely lead us to eternal life (Romans 6:23).

He is the Perfect Pilot – in fact, the ONLY One who can guide us to safety (John 14:6). And He WILL save those who will trust Him (Hebrews 11:6), turn from
sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized (immersed) in His name (Acts 2:38; 22:16), and follow Him faithfully
(1 John 1:7).

As the US Airways Flight 1549 jetliner descended, Vallie Collins tapped out a text message to her husband, Steve: “My plane is crashing.” Thankfully, she survived.

Friends, our WORLD is “crashing,” and it will one day come to an end. But the Pilot will lead you safely to eternal life IF you will trust and obey Him

Beautiful, Alrayna! And how true! And the older we get the dimmer this world seems and the brighter Christ's light shines for us.

All I could think was, "My God is AMAZING!"