Other

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It was not one of the smooth landings, in fact, it was rough in my estimation. Yet, one of the passengers started clapping after the landing. He was soon joined by many others. I kept on wondering, Why are they clapping, that landing was not smooth?

That reminds me of my first ever flight in August 1993. It was from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. Headed to the Scandinavia, the Swiss Air was not only the closest I had come to an aeroplane, I was actually boarding it. It was huge. I wondered how a giant of a vessel would float in the air. I knew that it must have flown from some place and that it was not the first time it was going to fly, otherwise, the first impression I got when I stepped into that plane was: This is a very bad idea! How can somebody make a huge thing like this, expect people to fill it, and still expect it to lift off the ground and fly? I was very skeptical. Nevertheless, I had made my bed; I had to sleep on it.

On the runway, I felt the raw aerodynamic power. Soon the giant vessel was airborne, but how long will it stay in the air with all that weight? The thought that there was a possibility of the giant vessel falling from the sky made a mockery of the the stewardess well-wishing cliché: "Enjoy your flight!" Any flight passenger who preoccupies himself with the thoughts of the gravity winning against the plane's engines will certainly not enjoy the flight but endure the fright.

After the climb, it stabilized and with it, my anxiety dissipated. It felt that gravity no longer had claims over the plane.

Did I count the chicks before they were hatched? Some hours in the air and the plane experienced some mild turbulence. I say ‘mild’ now, but not then. For me, it was a moment of truth. It would confirm what I had all along “knew”—that it was a very bad idea to make a huge thing and hope that it will fly in the air. I checked around to read the body language of the fellow passengers. They were calm and unconcerned. I decided to keep calm on the outside, but whisper prayers to calm the turbulence in the inside. From a thirty years’ life experience that far, I knew that I was not one of the people you would describe as unduly fearful. I was certain that I wasn’t the most fearful in the plane that afternoon. After talking to God and reminding myself that underneath are everlasting arms (Ex. 33:27), I determined to enjoy the ‘fright’ as some of the Bantu speakers would say (the idea is that they mistake “R” for “L” and vice versa).

When we landed, everybody thundered in what to me was a synchronized applause of clapping. I joined the clapping without a second thought. I was certain I knew why they were clapping and so it wasn’t difficult joining them—the successful landing proved that miracles still do happen. The giant vessel indeed defied the gravity and flew to its destination.

That brings me back to where I started. Why did people clap in the recent flight I was in? Unlike my first flight where I readily joined other passengers to clap, I was extremely reluctant to join in the clapping recently . I don’t usually like doing things just because others are doing them without myself establishing the justification. Since my first flight, I have since flown many times and I rarely hear people clap upon landing.

When I thought I wouldn’t clap, an inner voice spoke to me: What about giving a clap offering to the Lord for journey mercies?.With that, I quickly joined the clapping although it was by then fading.

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