A tiny, almost imperceptible flaw led to tragedy on flight of United Air 232 from Denver to Chicago on July 19, 1989. The fan disk in the DC-10's rear engine exploded, severing all three hydraulic lines, a highly improbable event—a billion-to-one chance. An investigation later discovered that the titanium ingot used to manufacture the fan disk had a tiny imperfection that had weakened to the breaking point. It took eighteen years and 15,503 takeoffs and landings to discover the problem. A jumbo jet with no hydraulics at 37,000 feet all but guaranteed a horrendous death for the 300 people on board, simply because a microscopically small bubble of nitrogen had not completely dissolved in the titanium ingot. The bubble was the tiny cause of a huge effect. Because of the crew's extraordinary skill, the aircraft was able to land, and 188 of the 300 passengers survived.

Flaws in our core are like that small nitrogen bubble. They may not show up for a long time, but the mounting pressures of life find that point of imperfection. Over the course of time, a metaphorical nitrogen bubble does its work eroding the integrity of our personal core. While a blind spot is something others see that we do not, a hidden area is something no one sees without intentional effort.

Editor's Note: The author adds the following comment: "This is one reason self-examination and self- awareness are so important. We need to look at ourselves carefully to find those nitrogen bubbles that often show up at the worst possible times."