Perfect

"A huge windstorm came and waves were crashing over the boat and it was already filling," Mark 4:37.

Ever been in stormy seas, boat low in a trough, and you lifting eyes up (up! looking up!) to waves cresting over? Perfect storm. Nothing quite like it. Not every trough's out on the water, though, is it? Not every hurricane blasts through the atmosphere, does it? When beloved one dies. When market crashes. When spouse abandons. When deadly pestilence slashes. When war devastates. When congregation falls apart. When pain outstrips meds. When debts overwhelm wallet. When dire need empties every cupboard. But children still hungry. When the waterline marks both sides of the freeboard. But where is Jesus? He sleeps astern. Awakening, he commands calm. And peace reigns. Then he asks: Why are you afraid?

We remind each other, brothers or sisters, of the faithful one in our midst, in Whom we believe. And, together, we give thanks for hope even in a perfect storm.