Nerves of Steel

One of the positives of limiting our schedules and staying inside is the chance to read the books we have stacked in a corner. 

I just finished Nerves of Steel by Tammie Jo Shults, the captain of Southwest Flight 1380. The lessons she provides are a word of hope to all of us during this pandemic crisis.

Our families, friends, and those around us are watching to see how our faith impacts our actions. 

We could all use nerves of steel for the next few weeks. 

Who is Tammie Jo Shults? 

There weren’t very many female pilots in the US Navy back in the 1980s, but Tammie Jo Shults was one of them. Her book provides an interesting look at her opportunities and her obstacles. Any woman who attempts to break social barriers has to be willing to suffer some hits, and Tammie Jo wanted to be a Navy pilot. Her story is composed of accomplishments and challenges. 

She became one of the first women to fly fighter jets for the Navy. She chose to endure prejudice, persecution, and hardships for the sake of her goals. Her faith kept her moving forward even when it would have been easier to quit. 

She credits her parents, her mentors, her friends, her husband, and, most importantly, her Lord for giving her the encouragement and strength she needed to pursue her goals. 

After retiring from the Navy, she was hired by Southwest Airlines and earned the opportunity to captain their aircrafts. That is what she was doing on April 17, 2018, when she piloted her Boeing 737 from LaGuardia and headed for Dallas. 

About twenty minutes into Flight 1380, one of the plane’s engines failed, the cockpit filled with smoke, and Tammie Jo Shults had to make a series of critical decisions. 

Instincts for any crisis 

Smoke filled the cockpit, and it was difficult to see the instruments. Tammie Jo said it felt like the plane had been T-boned by a Mack truck. At first, she thought another plane might have hit them. Quickly, she found the gauge that told her the left engine was dead. 

Just as quickly, the air pressure plummeted. A sharp pain pierced her ears. The roar was deafening. The plane began to vibrate violently. 

In all her years of training and flying, she had never experienced anything like that. 

But she had come close to disaster before. 

Her book describes the next moments 

The prologue records the brief moments that made all the difference. Tammie Jo wrote, 

Amid the confusion, I have a forced moment of solitude. I cannot see, I cannot hear, and I cannot breathe. I am isolated in one of life’s brief pauses, and adrenaline compresses my thoughts into an instant. This isn’t the first time I’ve flown without all the information I need. It isn’t the first time I’ve come close to disaster. My thoughts are distilled to their simplest form: bad news/good news. The bad news? With this fierce, abusive shuddering, I’m not sure everything we need to stay in flight will remain attached to the aircraft. This might be the day I meet my Maker face-to-face. The good news? We’re still flying. So it’s time to get to work. 

Tammie Jo knew salvation in Christ and had worked to have a strong walk with him as her strength. She instinctively turned to that strength in her moment of crisis. 

Later, when they listened to the cockpit tapes, she was surprised to hear her voice saying, “Heavenly Father.” 

She had instinctively prayed to the One she knew could help. 

Three lessons for a crisis 

The reason the book is titled Nerves of Steel is that a passenger on the flight used those words to describe the character of Tammie Jo’s words over the intercom, before she was able to land the disabled plane. She was calm. She gave them the information they needed and her voice quieted the chaos. 

She was asked to write the book so she could tell her story and help others understand how she was able to handle her terrifying circumstances. 

Tammie Jo gives three reasons she was able to function during that flight. 

Habits 

She writes, “Habits—good and bad—become instincts under pressure. In other words, the choices we make every day become our reflex on bad days.” 

She goes on to say that one of her lifelong habits was to turn to God for help when things were difficult. The peace that followed her prayer provided her a stillness that steadied her thoughts. 

Hope 

She writes, “I’ve come to realize since the events of Flight 1380 that hope may not change our circumstances, but it always changes us.” 

When Tammie Jo knew she was heading the plane toward an airport in Philadelphia, she told the entire plane, “We are landing in Philly.” She didn’t know they could land safely, but that hope caused everyone to find a place of peace and calm. 

Hope didn’t change their circumstances, but it changed them. 

Heroism 

Tammie Jo writes, “A true hero is someone who takes the time to see and makes the effort to act on behalf of someone else. In a word, they care.” 

She wanted everyone to realize that there were a lot of heroes on the plane that day. Her copilot, the flight crew, and several passengers had been extraordinarily brave and helpful both during and after the terrifying moments. 

What are your instincts for this crisis? 

All of us who watch the news know our nation, our world, is in a time of crisis. What are your instincts right now? 

How are the habits you have developed through your entire life carrying you now? 

I want to choose faith over fear. 

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” 

I’m glad the government, the scientists, the doctors, and those who do research are hard at work right now. But, I trust it will be the Lord who guides them to the cure. He already has the answers. 

Will you pray with me that all those who want to help will cry out to God for that help? 

Will you share hope with those around you? 

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

We all have an amazing opportunity to be a voice of calm amid the chaos. Does that describe your voice today? 

Will you be considered a hero when these days have passed? 

Tammie Jo Shults commented that she found it interesting that in most of her television interviews people didn’t want to talk about her skills as a pilot during those terrifying moments. They wanted to talk about the moments after she landed the plane. 

She had walked the aisles of the plane, helping people get what they needed, speaking to them kindly, showing interest in each passenger. That’s what people remembered. That is what made Tammie Jo Shults a hero. 

What will people remember about you after these days of crises? 

You can determine that answer now by your choices. 

Will you be someone’s hero in the days ahead? 

You know people who will be losing a lot of their hourly pay. 

You know people who will get sick. 

You know people who will be upset, scared, angry, and self-centered. 

Will you notice them—and help? 

You know Jesus wants to be their hero—through you. 

This crisis is an opportunity. 

Will you ask Jesus for the “nerves of steel” that you will need for these next weeks? 

He wants to answer that prayer. 

One Moment Changes More

Sometimes one moment will change many more. 

With news of the coronavirus, it could be the moment of the next handshake or the choice of a seat at the theatre. 

We trust traffic lights to control all of those who are driving, but last week I saw someone run a red light and narrowly miss two cars as a result. 

That moment could have become life-changing—or life-ending—for several people.

An important moment thirty-four years ago today 

What has been your most significant moment thus far? 

Happily, mine occurred thirty-four years ago today when the nurse placed my oldest son, Ryan, in my arms. I became a parent that day, and that one moment has changed almost every moment since.  

Parenting is a lifelong relationship, but not all of our children belong to our immediate families. Some of our children are older than we are. Most are probably close in age, and some might be much younger. 

We might be parents naturally, and we are likely working hard to lead our kids to faith in Christ. 

But all of us who are Christians have been called to become spiritual parents to spiritual children as well. 

Who were your spiritual parents? 

Who helped raise you spiritually? 

If you are like me, it’s a long list. Those people were my teachers, my examples, my accountability partners, and my friends. Just this morning I was blessed to read an article a friend had written about her increased passion for quiet time with the Lord each day. 

I’m coming out of an extremely busy three weeks and was reminded of my own need to seek quiet time with God for the sake of my soul rather than for the sake of a blog post or Bible lesson. I needed to be “parented” this morning and I’m grateful for her teaching.  

Every Christian who has matured in the Lord will parent others in the faith. That is how God intended evangelism to work.  

Who are your spiritual children? 

I was teaching a passage in 2 Corinthians last week that Paul wrote to Christians saying, “ We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections.  In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also” (2 Corinthians 6:11–13). 

Paul told the ancient church in Corinth that he thought of himself as a parent to them, and he loved them like a father loves his kids. He asked them to love him as they would love a parent.  

Paul loved the young, growing Christians in Corinth despite their ongoing attraction to the wrong influences in their lives. He told the church that it was time to mature in their faith and separate themselves from unholy things.  

A spiritual parent wants the best for their children in the faith. Whom do you feel that way about today? Whom has God called you to parent spiritually? 

What is spiritual parenting? 

Evangelism 

Quite often, your spiritual children are people the Lord has brought to your life who need to be born again. 

Commitment

There is no way we can invest our time and energy into everyone we meet. But there are some people we are called to make a greater commitment to than others. 

You will sense that God has given them to you to mentor, not just befriend. 

Who is watching you as an example for Christian living today?

Discipline

Every good parent disciplines their kids, for their sake. We want our kids to be strong in the world, know how to behave, and know how to relate well to others. 

Spiritual parents want their kids to be strong in the Lord. They need to know how God wants them to behave in the world and how to relate as a Christian to others. 

Discipline is about exchanging wrong or weak behaviors for better ones. Disciplining kids is one of the toughest jobs for any parent, and the same will be true for those God has given us to parent spiritually as well.

Unconditional love

There is literally nothing that either of my sons could do that could cause me not to love them with a deep and unconditional love. That is the love God gives naturally to every mom and dad. 

One of the best ways to recognize your spiritual children is to sense a heightened concern or compassion for the person. We can’t mentor everyone, but we are called to mentor some. 

Whom has the Lord caused you to think and care about at a greater level? 

The difference between work and chores 

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about the gifting of the Holy Spirit. He said, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–13). 

A “saint” is a person who has received Jesus as their Lord and become a child of God. 

The “work of the ministry” is the work that causes others to know, love, and walk through this life as an obedient child of God. 

We are called to live like our Lord lived, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” 

The spiritual teaching and nurturing we give our “birth-kids” are the chores we have been given. Chores are the work we do around our house.  

Work is what we do when we leave our homes. 

Which people has God called you to invest your time and Christian influence in who are not in your home? 

Consider that the “work” of your ministry. You have spiritual children the Lord wants you to teach and nurture as well. 

Evangelism is simply growing your family 

There is a spiritual gift of evangelism, but all of us are lifestyle evangelists. Your life is the most influential sermon you preach. You witness to people all day, every day. 

Has your sermon caused some people to know Jesus? 

Does your lifestyle preaching help others walk with Jesus and live “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”? 

All of us should have a growing family, forever. 

One moment changed many more 

The nurse placed Ryan into my arms and I became a parent. I will be a parent for the rest of my life. And it is my great joy to see Ryan parenting my grandkids to know and love the Lord. 

We were tucking Ryan’s kids into bed this past weekend when my granddaughter said, “We need to sing our songs.” 

I listened while she and her three-year-old brother sang the verses to “Amazing Grace.” 

This morning, one of my Bible students became my spiritual leader. 

“Kids” grow up to have children of their own. That’s how God intended it to be—naturally and spiritually. 

I hope all of us, including God, will enjoy a growing family for the rest of our lives.