~ "I must go down to the sea again..."

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (Ps 107:20)

If you have ever had a storm brewing within, you will understand the calm that comes before and after. There is always pain involved but is usually emotional pain. We become twisted and aggravated, nervous and agitated and nothing stops the pounding of our hearts against our chests. We pray. We ask for patience and comfort. It comes. We manage to get through the storm and realize it was not as bad as we thought it was. But there is always the "after storm". Just as we begin to settle back in our comfort, it rises up and hits us from behind on its way out. That is the one we didn't see coming! Then we forget to pray again! We put our two cents in and..."wham"... smacked down!

Continuing to have faith that God will bring us through any and everything, no matter what, is not easy to master! I'm not sure if I'll ever truly master it! I am human, thus, I doubt. Wanting immediate relief does not help the situation either. My mother used to tell me that anything worth having was worth waiting for. But even 50 some odd years later, I still want it now, I don't want to wait! Knowing what we want and what God wants are usually two different things. He wants us to be faithful and wait on his timing for us, he wants us to be consistent, he wants us to be whole!

He will calm the storm within us, just as he calms the seas. He will answer our prayers in his own time, and yes, sometimes the answer is "no". But for what is truly his, is truly blessed by him and never will he let go, not even for a second. Have faith that he will send you a life boat and let you drift safely into his loving care.


(photo by Tracey James)

~ "the unsinkable..."

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. (Acts 27:20)

We all face storms. They are what test our faith.

While sailing to Crete, a storm arose - a "nor'easter". Any of you who live near the ocean know exactly what this is! Nor'easters cause coastal flooding, coastal erosion and hurricane force winds. While the ship was being tossed around on the sea, they continued to throw everything overboard in order to stay afloat.

They had not listened to Paul and set sail anyway (sound familiar?) But once again, God assured them, through Paul, that they would not be lost!

Our lives hold many storms - some are rain showers and others are "Category 5" hurricanes. It's how we handle the storms within that make the difference! Sometimes we have to do what does not come natural to us to avoid the failure of our faith. When I say "failure of our faith" - I'm not talking about God failing us - it's us failing! When we want so desperately to walk away and choose what is NOT of God, when we tell ourselves that "God is NOT listening", we become like that ship, tossed upon the waves, with nothing to illuminate our way and we fear we will surely perish. We float around in search of an island to run aground on, so that we can get ourselves back together again and set sail on the right course, at the right time, with the right purpose and intention.

Listen to the sound of the Lord telling you what is right and good and what you should do! He's not going to let you drown. And when the storms pass, there is usually a rainbow somewhere to remind you of that!

(A small boat on the Atlantic Ocean (broke free of it's mooring as "Earl" approaches) (photo by Celia Darrigo)