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Wednesday 15 January, 2009 - 2:59 PM At the above date and time, - as I was brushing my teeth after finishing my lunch and before taking my 30-minute nap in preparation for my 4:00 PM - Midnight shift at the Phone Company – I thought I heard my doorbell ring. However, when I checked to see who was there, I did not see anyone, anywhere. The above date and time also happened to be the exact time when United 0947 would be landing at Dulles International Airport in Washington – carrying my 2 nieces Kat & Dew all the way from Amsterdam. They were to continue on United 7579 at 4:40 PM on their way to New York. For some reason – perhaps because they are the only children of one of my favorite brothers and his wife – I had been especially concerned about their wellbeing and had been praying for their safe arrival ever since their departure at 6:20 AM earlier that day. During my 30-minute nap I had a dream of a plane crash in which there were 2 (female) survivors who had miraculously been catapulted through a wide crack in the fuselage onto the wing while still in their seat. < 3:25 PM USAirways 1549 takes off at JFK in New York bound for Charlotte > At 3:30 PM, as I got into my car to go to work I noticed an airliner flying unusually low and unusually slow in preparation for a landing at Charlotte International Airport. My house is located in line with runway 5/23 at a distance of about 15 miles northeast of the airport. As I drove to work I remembered another instance of low and slow flying aircraft that happened about 6 years ago on January 8, 2003 when US Airways 5418 crashed at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. So when I arrived at work about eight minutes later at 3:38 PM and walked toward the entrance I intended to ask my fellow workers on the 8 - 4 shift on the 4th floor if they had heard anything about a plane crash anywhere. However, as I entered the front door of the building and watched the Miracle on the Hudson River unfold on the TV monitor in the entrance hall, I realized that my premonition had been for the wrong city and the wrong time. Is a flock of migrating geese at 3,200 feet an ‘Act of God’? No, it is just one of those things that happen in nature. Just be careful. Is the successful landing on the Hudson River and the resulting survival of 155 souls an ‘Act of God’? Not really. However, I do believe that the true miracle is the fact that we as human beings have been given the ability and power to perform amazing feats of courage and skill each according to the specific gifts we have received. As long as we realize and remember where these gifts originated we will know how to use them and give honor to the One who created us. |