High Waves

"By this time it was dark, Jesus had not come back to them yet. A strong wind was making high waves upon the water." John 6:17-18

Several years ago, my daughter Phoebe and I were attending a Native woman's conference here in Hawaii on the Big Island. At the end we stayed over one more day in order to see the sights. We took some time to go to the beach and enjoy the warm sunshine, the water and waves. Both of us are strong swimmers, and both of us are totally comfortable in the water. We were enjoying ourselves and then came the wave. A huge wave that flooded the short beach and swept us out quite a ways. We struggled to swim back in to shore, and Phoebe commented that we were almost swept out to the Philippines. When we got back to our towels, everything was completely soaked. I was glad to have survived.

The disciples put back in to the boat, waiting for Jesus, and crossing to the other side to find him. they were used to taking journeys on the water and in the wind. They were completely comfortable with life on the water. But this storm, this blow was overwhelming them. At just the moment of panic, Jesus appears walking on the water. The welcome onto the boat with great joy. No one knows, really, how afraid they were. And how glad they were to take Jesus into the boat. He walked on water to get to them. He came to their rescue despite the swells on the water.

Everyone has times of high surf and dangerous waves. It can seem like Jesus has wandered off and forgotten about us. The good news is that Jesus comes on the wind and the waves to ride along with us and keep us safe. Today, I want to live trusting that Jesus is riding with me, no matter how alone I might feel. May we all have the courage to trust Jesus, even when it is dark and the winds are whipping everything into a dangerous frenzy. Even in the frenzy, Jesus is here with us.