Sit Down Boys and Girls and Let Me Tell You a Story ~ blog

Listen, boys and girls, as I tell you a story about a group of people who thought they were safe but began to become afraid.  They were in a boat crossing a lake wanting to go to the other side.  Several of these boys knew a lot about boats and even had their own.  They spent years out on this lake fishing, so they were very much at ease on the water.

Some of the others were not so comfortable not having the security of solid ground under their feet and as the boat got further and further away from shore their fears only increased because some of them did not know how to swim and there was only one life-preserver on the boat.

While they were about in the middle of the lake the wind picked up and the waves of the sea began to become large enough to start splashing water into the boat.  They really became afraid when the wind turned into a squall where the force of the gales became very strong and the sea became very rough.  In fact, so much water was now coming into the boat that it was about to sink.  The men were terrified and truly believed their lives were about to end.

Then they noticed the life preserver.  The life preserver was not an “it” but a “he.”  He was sleeping on a cushion at the back of the boat.  I know, that seems crazy but there he was sound asleep in the back of the boat. I don’t think it was because he was exhausted. He just knew something that the other men did not know.  He knew they all were not in danger.

However, the other men did not know what he knew and since he was the one who suggested they set sail on this mission of death they felt the need to inform him of their dire situation and to let him know they were all going to die!!!

Don’t you hate it when someone wakes you from a good nap?  However, he was not angry because he saw the fear on their faces and knew they were truly in panic mode because they were literally shaking in their sandals. And he loved these men and was trying to train them to be leaders because he was going to be leaving them soon and they would be the ones helping others through other storms they would all face.

So, he stood up, which is usually not a good idea to stand in a small boat in the middle of a furious squall in the middle of a lake having on no life preserver. Like when they want you to stay in your seat with your seatbelt fastened when flying in a plane in the middle of heavy turbulence.

Nevertheless, he stood up.  They watched him thinking; “Here he goes again, going to teach us another lesson about something while we are on the verge of death.”  However, he only said 3 words. One two-syllable word and two one-syllable words.  He said;

“Quiet! Be still.”

And like someone turning off a huge fan the wind immediately stopped. Also, immediately the waves stopped and everything around them was completely calm.  It was like the wind and the waves had ears and did exactly what he told them to do. And suddenly they are gliding along on water that was like glass.

They were all totally shocked.  In fact, they were terrified by something else now that the wind and waves completely obeyed him. Who was this guy who could sleep during a squall and then turn off the wind and waves as easy as switching off a light switch???

Then he asked them a question.

“Why are you so afraid? 

Do you still have no faith?”

These men had been with this man for months.  They saw him cast out demons from a man and heal a whole town of people.  They watched him heal a leper which had never been done before.  He healed a paralyzed man and forgave all of his sins. He healed a man whose hand was shriveled and useless and made it perfectly well and useful.

But these were all small things. These were things never done before and huge to the people he was healing but now they see that his powers go beyond sicknesses and diseases. His power went beyond helping the people within his reach. He could stop the wind with 3 words and flatten the entire sea of Galilee in an instant.

Ok, boys and girls, we find ourselves in uncharted waters and people around us are beginning to panic.  The winds of fear regarding the pandemic of Coronavirus are intensifying causing a run on toilet paper and sanitizing products.  The stock market is experiencing waves bigger than they have ever seen before.

And I would say to all of us, myself included, the words our Life-Preserver spoke to his disciples in the boat;

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 Let us use wisdom in our actions and seek to help others around us who may be in more danger…especially the elderly who are isolating and living in fear.  Use your phone, Skype, WhatsApp, Zoom, whatever you have to communicate to others to have faith and follow the directions of those who are trying to calm the wind and the waves.

And stop joining the debate about who is to blame.  Be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem.  This is not a time for politics but time for politeness and helping others.

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