It’s no secret that much of our nation is enduring peculiar weather this winter, putting most of us in a deep freeze. Though we’ve known winters with occasional sub-zero temps or record snows, we’ve never known such extremes: in snow depths, expressway ice, sub-zero double-digits, and a winter start-date weeks ahead of schedule.

Last weekend when my plane made a harrowing landing in a blizzard (yesterday’s post), I saw an impressive sight on the ground: 15 (yes, 15!) plows and trucks waiting on the sidelines to move in for runway cleanup. Some had blades as wide as my living room.

Yet fifteen minutes after landing, we were reloaded and back at the end of the runway, ready to leave Pittsburgh for Chicago. Plows were sidelined but waiting at-the-ready to clear snow again. First, however, we were treated to a de-icing.

I’d never experienced that, and it was fascinating to watch two tank-style trucks move from plane nose to tail, dowsing us with chemical sprays that would make it impossible for ice to form on our wings (adding drag to take-off).

Our light-hearted flight attendant, already buckled into her jump seat, kept us focused on her one-woman comedy act as de-icing took place, bantering about it being much like a car wash. “But de-icing is better,” she said, “since the chemicals smell like pancake syrup. Enjoy the sweet experience!”

As we positioned for take-off, she surprised us again, belting out a song from start to finish: “Love will keep us together.” It wasn’t lost on her that 28 of us had been through an unnerving landing just a few minutes earlier, and she said she didn’t want us to turn against Southwest Airlines. She also knew that the same blizzard was still raging, and we were headed right back into those potholed skies.

They say attitude is everything, and though that isn’t a quote from Scripture, it is a biblical concept. Our stewardess helped us look on the bright side of a potentially dark situation much like God’s Word recommends we count our blessings no matter what’s happening around us.

But how do we maintain a sunny disposition when a storm looms? The only way is to stay close to the Lord throughout each day. It may sound Pollyanna-ish but is actually God’s specific instruction. Scripture 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.” (Romans 15:13)

He doesn’t ever want us to stop hoping for positive outcomes. Because he’s the God of hope, we can “abound” in it, if we partner with him. So when we’re threatened with an internal blizzard, we should think of that flight attendant singing her song as we headed into a storm, a reminder that we can face adversity with joy.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2)