Some time ago, we took a plane trip from São Paulo to Porto Alegre. It was an exciting journey for the children. Although they had flown when they were little, they didn't remember it anymore, so everything was new, and they spent the entire trip asking questions, amazed by everything. I remember well that on the way to Porto Alegre, Sarah asked me what that thing was right above us. She was referring to the oxygen mask compartment. I explained it to her, and she wanted to open the little door to see them. I said we couldn't open it, but in case of an emergency, it would open, and the masks would drop. What we didn't know was that we would soon have the "opportunity" to experience this firsthand.

On the return trip from Porto Alegre to São Paulo, we had been in the air for 45 minutes, and everything seemed to be going well, until suddenly I started to feel a lot of pressure in my ear. I tried to relieve the pressure, but it only got worse, when suddenly the oxygen mask compartment opened, and all the masks dropped in front of us. The pilot immediately instructed everyone to put on their masks because there had been depressurization in the airplane cabin.

Not understanding what was happening, I looked at the frightened girls and started putting the masks on them. My husband, who was across the aisle, looked at me worriedly as he put on his own mask. I quickly put the masks on the girls, but they wouldn't stay in place. I pressed the call button for the flight attendant, but no one appeared. I started to panic a little, and that's when I remembered I hadn't put on my own mask yet. I then told them to hold the masks in place with their hands while I put on my mask, and then, more calmly, I managed to adjust theirs.

I don't know exactly how long we wore the masks (I believe about 15 minutes), but I know it felt like an eternity. Even though we had oxygen to breathe, breathing didn't feel natural. Everything was very confusing. Everyone was very scared. The pilot then announced that we no longer needed to use the masks, as the oxygen level had stabilized. But he also told us that he would be increasing the aircraft's speed and that São Paulo airport was already waiting to receive us for an emergency landing within 25 minutes. He said he couldn't give us more details about the problem, however, we knew something wasn't right, because, besides hearing the persistent sound of an alarm behind his voice, we also started to smell something strange… like something burning.

Twenty-five minutes felt like an eternity at that moment. I had already prayed with the girls, and now, without the mask, I talked to my husband, and he asked me to pray again. I prayed a prayer with them that I never imagined I would pray. We asked for forgiveness for our sins, we asked for forgiveness from each other, and we placed our lives in God's hands. I told the girls to pray, sing, and try to have peaceful thoughts.

After calming them down, I started to question God. Could this be the end of our lives? We were preparing for the move He had guided us to. How could it all end like this? I had never been in a similar situation, so I reasoned that I had already done what I could physically – obey the pilot's instructions – and what I could spiritually – surrender my life to God. What remained now was to trust that God was in control and would lead us safely to São Paulo.

As I began to feel a little more peace in my heart, I heard my youngest daughter singing a song that says, "When I'm afraid, I trust in God..." She sang this and two other songs about trusting in God. I realized my daughters were very calm, and God filled my heart with His presence and love.

Time then seemed to start passing faster. We noticed the plane greatly increased its speed, and soon we were flying over São Paulo and landing near a Gol hangar. At that moment, the pilot spoke to the passengers again and told us that the incident that had occurred was very uncommon in aviation, and that they didn't yet know exactly what had happened. He also said that he himself had never been through that experience, but that he had managed to stay calm and land the plane safely.

Upon landing, there were already ambulances and all sorts of emergency services outside waiting for us, and as soon as the doors opened, personnel came in to check if everyone was okay. To my older daughter's surprise and delight, we had the opportunity to exit through the back door of the aircraft and descend one of those staircases, something she had wanted to do since the beginning of the trip. We were then directed to a bus that took us to the terminal where we collected our luggage.

As I got into the taxi that would take us to our next destination, I began to reflect on everything that had happened, and I felt God impressing some spiritual lessons upon my heart. First of all, when the masks dropped, I was desperate to save my daughters, so I started by putting the masks on them, but in that process, I started to run out of breath. How could I help my daughters when I myself was already starting to run out of breath? It's the same in spiritual life; many times we want to save our children, but we forget that to save them first, we need to seek our own salvation, that is, we need to be on the right path ourselves, in order to then show them how to follow Him.

Another lesson… When the pilot spoke to us and told us that he had never been through that situation, but had managed to stay calm, I remembered Jesus. Unlike the pilot, Jesus has already been through the same difficulties as us, and that's exactly why we need to surrender ourselves completely to Him, because He is the only one who can guide us.

Our journey in this world is like a plane in distress. When we look at the world's destination, we can only see a great disaster ahead. We know, however, that Jesus is our pilot and that only He can lead us safely to Heaven. Even so, we have a part in the process. And what would our part be? Obeying the pilot's instructions.

When we choose to obey the instructions of pilot Jesus, we are safe during the journey. However, it's not the act of putting on the mask that will take me to the final destination, but rather the fact that Jesus is the pilot. Does that make sense? Obedience is my part in the process of salvation, but the only one who can save me is Jesus, and that's exactly why I need to cooperate with Him and, above all, trust Him entirely.

During that trip to São Paulo, we had to trust an unknown pilot whom we hadn't even seen or known by name. But on our journey to Heaven, we have the joy of being intimate friends with the Pilot. We have the pleasure of living with Him day by day, knowing Him through His word, His creation, and His provisions, and this gives us much more security to continue on our journey, because the pilot is our friend.

May God bless you on your journey, helping you to know the pilot more each day and to trust Him entirely.

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