The Ocean

I saw this quote somewhere, “Life is like the ocean, it goes up and down”. How true is that! One moment things are calm, everything seems normal and then suddenly they are not. 2020 had taught us that much. This has been a year of so much change and we are still not sure how the rest of it will even go.
One moment you have a job and the next, you do not. One moment you are well, enjoying the simple things of life and then the next you are hit with a scary medical diagnosis. Life indeed is like the ocean.
In Matthew 14, Jesus feeds the five thousand, realizes it has been a hectic day for His disciples so He sends them off in a boat and takes it upon himself to dismiss the crowd. Soon what starts as a journey on the calm waters turns into a tumultuous one as the wind begins to blow against their boat. Probably exhausted from trying to keep the boat from taking on water, they see a figure coming towards them.
It must be a ghost! Well, it turns out to be the Lord. Of course they are skeptical when Jesus hollers that it is Him. The ever quick Peter decides to verify the truth of His claim so he challenges Jesus to ask him to walk on water too. Jesus obliges with a simple “Come”. Peter ventures out of the boat, and for a little while he was doing good “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:30.
In this life, we will always encounter storms, boisterous winds, undulating terrains, unstable waters, etc. Things will not go as we expect sometimes, our hearts will be broken, relationships will sour, we will lose loved ones, complicated viruses will accost us, etc. In all this instability we need someone stable to lean into and to focus on. Like Peter, if we choose to focus on the boisterous winds for more than a moment we will lose it!
I have found myself asking how those who do not know God are getting through this strange year? Those of us who know Him, know that through the storm of this strange disease which has turned life as we know it upside down, God will take care of us. Through the death of loved ones, job losses, church closures, racial tensions, we know we will be ok because our eyes are trained on Jesus.
I am still waiting for Him to calm this storm but until then, I set my eyes straight ahead on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith and I plod on. I encourage you to do same!
Blessings!
Love, Lady Monica ❤