Once more with feeling...

New year, new brain. No, actually that should be new baby, new brain. Needless to say, my noggin is different- sleep deprived, focused on keeping a toddler from smashing goldfish crackers into the carpet, and pondering the mystery of unending laundry.

Somewhere, there is still room for this other stuff. Seeking, searching, asking.

On a lake somewhere in Israel, the Disciples were on a little boat. A storm blew up. Crashing waves, crazy lightning, booming thunder. Not the best place to be. Suddenly, they spy something through the torrential downpour, lit up at every flash of lightning. It was Jesus, walking on the water, all casual and calm.

First response? Well, I know I would have dropped my jaw, though still clinging to the boat in some way. I don't think I would dig my fingernails out of the mast, even if I did see something as amazing as Jesus walking out in the middle of all that chaos, not to even mention the fact that he was ON TOP OF THE WATER, not sinking or anything. Yeah. But still. I wouldn't be amazed to the point of...well, Peter.

Peter hops up and yells out, "Hey! Lord! Let me walk out to you!!" For real? For real. Peter must not see the freezing cold rain drenching his body to the bone, the enormous waves waiting to swallow him up, the wind, the thunder...you know, chaos! He sees Jesus, and in that moment, his trust-o-meter must have skyrocketed. Because he does it! He walks out there with the Lord! On the water!

See, it would be one thing to hop out of the boat during calm waters, with the sun all shining and sea birds twittering and such. I mean, yeah, it would be quite a feat! But during a storm? That is an entirely different, and much more amazing scenario. And it speaks volumes to us, as well.

Our lives are constantly tossed- particularly right now. Losing jobs, dwindling financial security, cars breaking down, medical bills, loved ones faced with cancer. We often find ourselves in the midst of tornadoes. Our first response? Grab something and HOLD ON.

But is that what we are supposed to be doing? Maybe sometimes, but probably not the majority of those times. I think maybe God wants us to let go and move toward Him, even if it seems impossible to move. We see our lives in such a different way than God sees them. In moments where we feel the need to batten down the hatches and curl up in a ball in the corner somewhere to ride out the storm- God might want us to get up, like there's nothin' goin' on, and move toward Him, even if the steps we take in that direction lead us to something that doesn't seem possible.

Many things seem impossible right now. How are we going to afford this? How are we going to grow our congregation? Nothing makes sense! It's turmoil. So, what do we do? Hang on to everything for dear life? What are we holding on to? Old ways, traditions? Or this building? Our ideas that we had once we came to this building? Or maybe it's not that- I don't know.

All I do know is that God doesn't want us to try and save ourselves from whatever it is we think we need saved from. We need to step out in boldness- toward Him. Does that mean something in particular for you? It may mean something entirely different to the person on your left or right. God wants us to react to this turmoil like Peter. I don't know what our next move is, but I do know it must be toward God, regardless of what the weather looks like in that direction.