Ordinary Time

Pause

Everyone goes through storms. They are a natural occurrence in life. But sometimes, it seems that as soon as you’re through one storm, another one is just over the horizon.

What gets us through these storms? For seafarers out on the ocean, it’s navigation equipment. GPS, compass, and satellite. What equipment do we use to navigate through life’s storms?

Whatever problems you may be dealing with this week, trust in the tools that God has given us to navigate this unpredictable life: the love of family and friends, the wisdom of Scripture, and the guiding force of the Holy Spirit.

Listen

But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”

Mark 4:38

Think

Have you ever felt abandoned? Have you ever felt truly alone?

I’m sure at some point or another we have all felt like the disciples in today’s reading: sinking, struggling, and out of control while God ignores our calls for help. However, I’d like to think that God is not ignoring us on such dark days. Instead, God may be counting on us to figure out our problems for ourselves using the skills and experience given to us by God.

It is easy to trick ourselves into thinking that we are powerless. Yes, we are human. But our human weaknesses don’t make us any less capable to take care of ourselves. Next time you are on the brink of perishing in another one of life’s storms, remember to use your God-given abilities and experience before going into a panic.

You’ve survived many a storm along this journey. You will survive this one as well, and acquire new skills and experience that will help you along the way.

Will Bryant

Pray

God in Heaven, thank you for the voyage of life. Thank you for the days of smooth sailing and sunshine. And yes, thank you even for the days of storms and darkness; for it is in rough seas that I find my true self, and it is in my challenges that I come to truly cherish joy. Amen.

Go

“Oh what good is it to live with nothing left to give?
Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see? [...]
You belong with me,
Not swallowed in the sea.”

Coldplay, 2005, “Swallowed in the Sea”