I almost died yesterday. That’s barely even an exaggeration, which I still haven’t comprehended. Like, I actually could have died yesterday.
But it would have been a pretty cool way to go.
Let me begin at the beginning. For the last week, the whole squad has been together at debrief. Debrief happens four times during the Race. During debrief, our squad coaches and mentors come over to talk with and encourage us. It’s a time to rest and rejuvenate. And, there are often opportunities for some kind of adventure. When the opportunity to paraglide came up, I jumped on it.
Now, if there is a scale from 1-10 on how adventurous of a person you are, with 1 being not at all and 10 being the most extreme, I would be maybe like, a 6. You won’t catch me skydiving or bunjee jumping off of a bridge, but paragliding sounded awesome.
Thirteen girls set off yesterday morning to participate in the paragliding adventure. We drove for about an hour and a half, ending up at the top of a mountain. The view was awesome! We could see the mountains all around us, dotted with small villages, and the cities in the valleys far below.
There were four gliders, so only four people could go at a time. I went with the second group.
If I knew anything at all about paragliding, I maybe would have had some concerns. First of all, the wind was so strong that it took a really long time for my pilot to be able to get his glider straight and ready for takeoff. Also, he asked me before takeoff, “What is your body weight?” When I answered, “About 100 pounds,” he seemed slightly concerned. But he strapped me in anyway. I got ready to run at his command, like I’d watched the others do, but suddenly the glider pulled us hard and we just lifted up off of the ground.
And I was flying! The ground got farther away as the wind pushed us to the right, which was the opposite direction of where everyone else had gone. Almost immediately, my pilot started apologizing. But I was like, “It’s okay,” thinking he was just taking me in a different direction, on purpose.
But it wasn’t on purpose. Before long, it became clear that there was a problem and my pilot was looking for a place to land. I thought, “Well, I might as well enjoy it as long as we’re up here.”
It really was beautiful. Green trees covered the mountains, spreading as far as we could see. Soon, though, we saw that we were approaching a flat field. I could feel the relief from my pilot. He would land us there, I was confident. I was wondering how exactly we would be getting back to the others and wondering if there was a long walk ahead of us. And I was sort of disappointed that the ride hadn’t lasted very long.
Then, suddenly, I saw that we were headed straight for a tree. And in my mind it was just, “Jesus, help us!”
Before I even had time to be scared, branches were smacking me in the face and slamming into my leg. I remember grabbing for my glasses and thinking I should have worn my back up pair. And then, just as suddenly, we were somehow sitting on the ground.
Did I really just crash into a tree while paragliding over the mountains in Nepal?!
My pilot was asking me, “Are you okay?” My leg was hurting, there was a little blood under my nose, my right hand was scratched up, and my glasses were very bent. But no bones were broken and I was conscious. “I’m okay,” I replied. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. We should stand up.”
“I just need a minute, I think.”
“Okay.”
After a minute or two we stood up. “God protected us,” my pilot said, and I agreed. I was blind without my glasses but tried to look around. We were in a valley. A ringing started in my ears.
“I think I might be sick.”
The pilot had me lie down on the seat and said to sleep, which I was pretty sure was a bad idea after being smacked in the face by a tree, but I knew I had to at least close my eyes for a minute and get myself together.
Jesus, help me.
I’m okay. I’m okay.
I laid there for maybe five minutes or so before I felt well again. Gradually, I became aware that there were other people around me, speaking Nepali. I slowly sat up, held my glasses up to my eyes, and looked around, at which point I realized that about twenty villagers had appeared to observe this strange sight.
The glider was stuck in the tree and the pilot, with the help of some of the young men from the village, was trying to get it down. One of the young men had somehow scampered up the tree and was hacking at branches with a large knife so they would fall off and the glider would fall with them.
I walked over to where the villagers were and sat with them to watch the excitement.
This is going to make a pretty great blog.
Can I fix these glasses?
My leg hurts.
How are we getting back to the others?
I am sitting in the mountains in Nepal by myself with a group of villagers. How does Jesus want me to bring Kingdom here right now?
I tried talking to the woman who was sitting beside me, holding a baby. She didn’t speak any English, but she understood when I asked what the baby’s name was. I did some more smiling at people and then just bowed my head and prayed for the village and the people in it.
Eventually, the men were able to get the glider out of the tree. The pilot folded all the equipment up and threw it into a bag. Some of the young men from the village helped him to carry it, and we followed them to a path leading from the valley up to the road. One of the young men handed me a walking stick, which was very helpful since my leg still hurt. They led us up the narrow footpath and the pilot and I chatted a bit. I remembered what the pilot had said about God protecting us. “I was praying for Jesus to protect us,” I said as we paused to look out over the valley, wanting to differentiate Jesus from all the other gods.
We finally got to the road, where a car from the paragliding business was waiting. “Did something happen?” asked the Nepalese driver.
Did something happen.
We drove back the road to a tea shop, where some of my group was waiting. The last group hadn’t even been able to fly, because the wind was too strong. “Debbie!” they greeted me, unaware of what had happened, only knowing that I had flown off in the opposite direction. Then one of my friends, Shannon, noticed the scratch under my nose.
“Did you have that before?”
“No…I crashed into a tree.”
“WHAT?”
“I crashed into a tree!”
And then, of course, I started bawling into Shannon’s coat. The adventure was over, and I was safe.
* * *
The next morning, back at our hotel, I told the story to some of my squadmates. My friend Katie, who had been there the day before, shared some surprising information with me. She had been talking to the pilot after we’d all been reunited, and he explained that he’d crashed into the tree on purpose. With the speed and the angle with which we were approaching the ground, I probably would have died if we’d tried to land in the field.
I’ve been thinking about everything that happened over the last day, asking God what He’s trying to teach me through all of this. I think this is what He’s saying.
Jesus is your pilot. Sometimes in life, you’re going to crash into a tree. Things will happen that you didn’t expect to happen. And when you crash into the tree, it’s going to hurt. It will probably hurt a lot.
But Jesus, who loves you, crashed you into that tree on purpose. It could be because He’s saving you from a far worse alternative. Sure, that field looked safe, it looked like a good landing spot, but it actually would have killed you.
Or maybe it’s not really about you at all. Maybe Jesus crashed you into a tree because He wants you in this particular valley. While you’re down there in the valley, shocked about what just happened and nursing your injuries, take a look around. There are other people down here in the valley with you, and maybe they need what you have. Maybe they need your smile, your prayers, your perspective. They’ll help you too, these people you find in the valley. You may find a community here that’s the best you’ve ever known.
I don’t know what tree you’ve crashed into lately. I don’t know what valley you’re in now. But please know, no matter where you are, no matter how alone you feel or how much pain you are in, you are NOT alone. Your loving pilot has crash-landed you here for a reason. It may be for your own protection. It may be because someone else down here needs you. Or maybe it’s both.
You won’t be stuck here in the valley forever. So while you are, rest in your Father and enjoy the beauty that’s around you. Soon enough, you’ll begin the trek back up the mountain, back to your friends and your safety and your hot tea.
But you won’t be the same. You’ll be stronger and braver, and you’ll have a story of God’s faithfulness to share. You’ll be different, and it will be beautiful.
* * *
If you’ve crashed into any trees or are stuck in any valleys and you need some prayer, please e-mail me at [email protected]. I don’t have Internet all the time on the World Race, but I have it often enough, and I’d love to pray for you!
