If you have to ask the question, the answer is meaningless. However, here is a story that I would like to share:
During WWII, a US navy pilot was attempting to return to his aircraft carrier after a night raid on the Japanese mainland. During the night fighting, his very powerful P-38 fighter was heavily damaged by enemy flak fire and he was physically fighting to keep the craft airborne. If that wasn't enough, he was separated from his squadron and was running low on fuel. In fact, the subdued lights on his instrument panel showed that the fuel indicator was bumping on empty and he knew he didn't have long before his fighter plunged into the sea.
Because of Japanese night attacks on US shipping, all ships were running with lights out and even finding the carrier was a daunting task. It was simply a matter of extreme luck. Running down the length of the flight deck was a string of very dim landing lights that could be seen only by a pilot flying on the correct heading, and in the correct landing configuration. In order to find those lights, he first had to find the ship, and under an overcast and moonless sky, that seemed virtually impossible. Obviously, all odds were stacked against him.
Looking down on the very black ocean, he found himself not only utterly alone, but also, the most terrified that he had ever been. He knew that his chances of even finding the ship was very slim, landing safely on board virtually nonexistent, and the probability of his pending death very high. Fortunately, he had made his Last Will and Testament and had left it with the ship's executive officer as Naval protocol recommended.
Waiting at home in the states was a young wife and new born daughter who he had never seen, and at this moment he was convinced never would. Many things flashed through his mind as he accepted his fate. He knew he would never witness her first steps, never hear her whisper her first words, nor see her ride her first tricycle, nor would he ever see her prom dress, nor would he ever give her away at her wedding. Most troubling of all, he would never experience the joy of holding his child in his arms for the first time. Pending death is cruel mistress.
Although, not a church goer, nor a believer in any faith, by instinct he knew the only hope he had left at this moment was a simple prayer. The saying is that "no soldier in battle is an atheist." He closed his eyes and whispered: "Our father in heaven, I know I have never spent time in your house, nor have I ever confessed my belief in you. Chances are, you don't even know my name, and for this I ask your forgiveness. If you will let me live to see my daughter and at the very least, hold her in my arms, I promise you I will bring her up in your house and she will know your name. Amen"
He opened his eyes and glanced very briefly at the dim lights on his instrument panel. Suddenly, at that exact moment, the electrical system in the aircraft sparked brightly, burned out completely, and the instrument panel lights went out. The cockpit was plunged into total darkness. It was the blackest darkness he had ever witnessed. His first thought was, "Well, that was a quick answer." He again resigned himself to accept the inevitable.
Still fighting to keep the heavily damaged and shuttering aircraft in the air, his eyes slowly adjusted to the total darkness and he glanced down toward the waiting ocean. His immediate thoughts were, why keep fighting, I might as well let it go and get it over with. Just before letting go of the controls, something caught his eye.
At that moment, to his utter amazement, he saw, what appeared to be, a very dim, pale green light painted across the surface of the ocean almost directly beneath his flight path. It proved to be a path of phosphorescent light churned up by the aircraft carrier's powerful propellers cutting through the water agitating phosphorescent plankton. He didn't have to be told that this light across the ocean led to his ship.
Had his electrical system not malfunctioned, had the cockpit lights not gone out, had his eyes not adjusted to the darkness, he would have not seen that "highway" painted across the sea. He eased the nose of the aircraft onto a path to follow the pale green light, and nosed it down into a slow descent. Within moments, at the end of that highway, he spotted a row of landing lights sitting on the water.
Not only did he live to hold his daughter, he was also kind enough to share this story with others. Just thought I'd pass it on.