Editor’s note: Tammy Real-McKeighan has been out of the office this week. This is one of her previous columns.
Every Christian needs a wingman.
What’s that?
Good question.
Please let me explain.
But first let me tell you about Lt. Col. Charles A. Lane Jr.
During World II, Charles was part of the Tuskegee Airmen. That was the first African American flying unit in the United States military.
Charles was 8 years old when he started building model airplanes and by the time he was 16 just knew he could fly a real one. So he became one of 5,700 men who applied for the cadet program and one of a select few who qualified.
Only 992 finished.
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At Tuskegee, Charles learned to fly and — along with his fellow pilots — flew P-51 Mustangs overseas.
It wasn’t easy. Tuskegee pilots not only battled the enemy, but faced prejudice from their own countrymen.
“We had to maintain a high level of accountability. We wanted to prove we could do as well as the white pilots … and we had to prove to our own selves that that we could do it,” he told me during a 2010 interview.
The Tuskegee airmen’s primary responsibility was to escort bombers out of Italy and into southern Germany and back. The airmen also provided ground support and fired on enemy trucks, trains, ground equipment and posts.
Charles was a wingman.
His job was to keep the enemy off the leader. He had to stay alert and continually on the lookout for trouble.
“You knew you had to cover three-fourths of the sky in protecting (the leader) and yourself,” Charles said. “You stayed in formation, close enough to make sure you were protecting him and the other people in formation.”
On a mission, the leader would go down and fire on a target. When he cleared the target, Charles would follow and then also fire on the target.
I was amazed when Charles told me about the time his group was ordered to stop an enemy train.
Squadron Commander Bill Campbell shot up the train’s engine with Charles right behind him as wingman.
Suddenly, the sides of four baggage cars dropped and out came anti-aircraft guns, which began firing at Charles’ plane.
“I saw a long line of machine guns opening fire on me,” Charles said. “I thought I saw about 45 guns aimed at me. It scared me to death.”
Charles eluded enemy forces, but ended up with about 14 slugs in his plane.
I’ve often thought that God was Charles’ wingman — protecting and backing him up as he literally faced the battle of his life.
I believe God did that for Moses when he and his people faced the Red Sea on one side and the Egyptian army coming at them from the other. God parted the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed over on dry ground. When the Egyptian army followed, God closed the waters over them and they all drowned.
I’d say God had the Israelites’ backs.
And I believe he’s got our backs, too.
As it says in Isaiah 58:8, “…and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”
At the same time, I believe God puts other Christians in our lives, who can act as wingmen — those people who have our backs.
They follow us into life’s battles.
When the enemy of our souls is tempting us, our wingmen pray for and with us — to help us stay on course. They gently, but clearly speak the truth in love, reminding us how important it is to follow God and of the blessings that come with obedience.
When we face discouragement and fear, our wingmen pray and encourage us to trust that God can — and will — get us through such tough and scary times.
When we fly through storms of sorrow, sickness and stress, our wingmen pray and stay by us, helping us reach a better place. They sympathize with us, because they, too, know the pain of being wounded in battle.
Recently, I was going through some temptation, when one of my wingmen prayed a prayer that surely sent the enemy of my soul scurrying for cover. She and another wingman have been helping me stay on track and I am so grateful for them.
Please let me say that I don’t believe it’s a sin to be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted in the desert before he began his ministry. Instead, I believe it’s a sin when we go ahead and do what we know is wrong or what could lead us into doing something we shouldn’t.
But sometimes — in the heat of battle — it’s tough to remember our objective.
Our wingmen help keep us accountable.
They keep us on target.
From their perspective, a good wingman (or wingwoman) can see potential hazards that we may not spot. They’re close enough to understand the battles we face.
They can tell us to pull up, when they see us diving into a disastrous situation.
And we trust them because we know they have our best interests at heart. They’re on our side. They want to see us be victorious.
I believe some very public Christian leaders have fallen into sin, because they didn’t have those wingmen.
We should never think we’re so spiritual or such a “great” leader that we don’t need someone with whom we can be real and honest. We must have wingmen we can trust, who will keep our conversations private.
A good wingman can be hard to find, but when you find one — hang onto him or her.
They are priceless.
What’s more, I believe we need to be a wingman for someone else. We must be trustworthy, slow to speak and quick to listen, ready to seek God for wisdom and direction.
I read recently that Charles, the wingman, died in 2013. I’m so grateful to God that he allowed me to talk to Charles before his death and for the lessons I’m continuing to learn from his story.
Chances are that I’ll never fly an airplane — especially not into a battle and that’s OK.
But as I face the battles of my life, I’m thankful for the human wingmen that God’s put into my life.
And for my precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate wingman, my leader and my strength.
Tammy Real-McKeighan is news editor of the Fremont Tribune. She may be reached at 402-721-5000, Ext. 1431, or tammy.mckeighan@lee.net.