Land This Plane...

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞

🆁🅴🅵🅻🅴🅲🆃🅸🅽:

“Don’t dim the lights. Just put on some shades.”

This was quoted in one of the workshops I attended while in D.C.—and I thought I’d give a visual (plus I had a great view & great lighting; y’all see those clouds reflecting in my lens)

Moreover, lights were made to shine Whether it’s you—or someone else, don’t dim the lights. They’re doing what they were made to do. Just throw on some shades. But, keep shining.

🆂🆃🆁🆈 🆃🅸🅼🅴:

I got a real-life word/revelation during my flight back home…

When we boarded the flight, the pilot told us that the flight back to Knoxville would be smooth, but for safety reasons, he instructed us to keep our seat belts on—as there could be some unexpected turbulence.

For the most part, it was a pretty smooth flight. However, we did have some unexpected turbulence—and when it was time to land, things took a little turn. As the plane began to descend, it got really bumpy. In fact, something straight crazy happened—we literally hit the runway—and immediately had to go back up in the air. Now y’all know I was like…

And as y’all could imagine, folks on the plane started whispering—and some were talking loud, as everyone was freaking out, trying to figure out what in the world was going on!?

And even more “concerning” was the fact that we stayed up there, circling around for an additional 20 minutes, without knowing what was actually going on.

We eventually landed, and the pilot then informed us that his first attempt to land was unsuccessful. Folks were upset, fussing, complaining, and saying, “Why didn’t he tell us that when we abruptly went back up in the air!?” Surprisingly, I remained calm (for the most part ), as I simply turned my head to the window and started to pray; and I literally said, “Lord, you gotta land this plane…ain’t no way you brought us to our destination for us to circle around in the air/for this plane not to land.”

My overall takeaway: This first landing attempt was like many of our lives. We have amazing plans.…we even have “confirmation” from the pilot (God) that the flight will be good—granted, there might be a lil’ turbulence. But as soon as it’s time to land, “BOOM!” …things start looking and feeling rather chaotic. You literally feel like you’re going in circles. Looking at the promise—but not able to take hold of it.

And if we’re honest, some of us even complain, yell, and scream, asking God, “What is going on!?”

As we circled around…until the plane could land, God simply said to me, “What did I tell you. I told you I would get you home safe and sound. Do you trust me? I even told you to stay seated and keep your seatbelt on, until we touch the ground.”

In short, I wasn’t sure how that plane was gonna land, but I knew it was going to land. I’m not a pilot, but I trusted my pilot (Jesus). And after it was all said and done, God also said this: “If the pilot would have told y’all that he had to go back up because he couldn’t land properly, the whole plane would have freaked out even more!! So he kept quiet—and simply did what he said/initially promised to do. He landed the plane SAFELY. Y’all made it to the destination without tragedy. That was his job—and he did just that.”

Y’all…that was a whole word! And I was like, “God, you’re so DOPE!” Anywho, my encouragement to you is this: TRUST the Pilot (Jesus)!! He knows EXACTLY what he’s doing!!!

Canena Adams, MA, BSW, SRAS

Internal Communications Coordinator at

The University of Tennessee

Wife | Mother | Writer | Author | Public Speaker | Social Worker | Business Owner | Nonprofit Founder & Director | Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist | Healthy Family & Relationship Advocate | Blogger | Podcaster | Adjunct College Prof. | PhD Student