Rough Seas

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ Mark 4:34-41

Sailing Rough Seas

We are surely in a storm
the winds of worry howl
the panic rises us within us
we beg to be saved from it.

With each gust we slide
the deck underneath us slippery
the waves crashing over us
we see nothing but certain end.

We raise our voices screaming
does God not care for people
are we left to our own devices
headed towards splintering rocks?

Sometimes we must turn in to the wind
hold on to the gunnels for dear life
duck under the shifting mainsail
keeping our hands on the rudder.

This is the time for fervent prayer
facing the cruel gales and spray
seeking the face of God in deep fog
expecting the light to arise before us.