With everything going on in the world, I keep being drawn back to that picture.
Prateek Joshi and his wife Komi, smiling in their seats directly across from their three small children. Just moments after the selfie was taken and sent to relatives, they switched their phones into airplane mode, settled into their seats aboard Air India Flight 171, and perished with 241 other passengers (and at least 30 victims on the ground) in one of the worst aviation disasters in history.
I know it's not productive, but I keep thinking about their final moments, picturing myself in their shoes. After all, my wife and I have taken similar pictures with our three young kids seated across the aisle.
It could have been us. It could have been any of us.
Did the passengers sense the impending crash, or did it happen so quickly - as the one survivor has indicated - that there wasn't much time to process what was unfolding? As the plane failed and began descending, were there screams of panic that caused those little children to turn to their parents for comfort or assurance? Did Prateek and Komi turn to them, or did they turn to each other and exchange one final "I love you" on this side of eternity?
The backstory of the Joshi family makes their picture all the more devastating. After years of delays, Prateek's dream of moving his family to London was being realized. His wife, Komi, had quit her job as a renowned pathologist, packed all their belongings and secured travel documents for the children, and the children had just said their goodbyes to extended family. Prateek had spent four years working in London, flying back and forth often - but never taking a direct flight. This time would be different so that, as he put it, things would be easier on the family. A thoughtful, selfless choice that would end in tragedy.
Komi's father shared an additional, gut-wrenching detail:
I had spoken to her at 1:32 PM for the last time on a video call. She called me when their plane was on the runway to talk one last time before take-off. She wanted to talk to her mother. But since her mother was in the operating theatre, I told Komi not to hurry and talk to her mother after she reached Derby. I started getting calls from people after a mere 15 minutes, asking which plane they were in. I found out that they were in the same plane that crashed. We rushed here. Roads were blocked everywhere. The crash happened just two to three minutes after I last talked to her.
Every one of the passengers had a backstory. They all had dreams and aspirations, hopes and plans for their future - a future that would never come. That's how quickly it can happen. To any of us. On any day, at any given moment.
Death is a depressing reality. But it is a reality that cannot be avoided. Ignoring or turning a blind eye to that truth takes a depressing reality and makes it catastrophic.
Our Creator never intended for humanity to endure tragedy; He created a world of perfection that we were free to choose. But in foolish rebellion, we charted our own way apart from Him, His guidelines, and His will. That way ended with fiery scenes like we all witnessed in Ahmedabad last week.
But in His incomprehensible love for His rebellious children, God promises that even in unspeakable tragedy, He is not absent from us. Rather, He will draw near to the brokenhearted, weep with us, and offer a permanent solution to our sorrow. Because of His work on the cross of Calvary through His Son Jesus, evil, death, and tragedy do not have the final word. They were swallowed up in three triumphant words, spoken from the lips of a suffering Savior:
"It is finished."
It's true that the loss of the precious Joshi family is a reminder of the brokenness of this world. But if we are wise, it will sharpen the longing our souls all feel for a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more night, no more suffering, no more pain, and where every tear is wiped away.
I do not know the relationship the Joshi's had with their Savior, and can only hope they had one - despite all I know about the prevalence and influence of Hinduism in their culture. But at this point, the far more pressing and critical question is the status of our own - that is, those of us who stand on this side of death's doorway.
May none of us turn a blind eye to answering it.
And may God comfort the families and bless the memory of all those lost on Flight 171.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.
