Calming the Storm

Storms are a common theme or way of life in St. Louis these days. Right now you may be wishing you were in a dryer part of the country, like sunny Florida.  I was waiting on an appointment the other day and I overheard two men talking about this very thing. One said, “Do you like all that Florida weather out there?” The other responded, “It is like a tropical island or something.” I don’t usually think of Florida as a tropical island.  When I think of a tropical island, I think of blue skies, great temperatures, white sandy beaches and crystal clear water, like at Caye Caulker, a small island off the coast of Belize that I got to visit. Yet, Caye Caulker has a rainy season, and storms come to that island just like they come to St. Louis.

This week’s lesson is about Jesus calming the storm. It can be hard to connect the dots when trying to mix this story with Father’s Day, which is also on Sunday. Sometimes, our thoughts of our fathers on Father’s Day are like those of the tropical islands – we focus on all the great memories, but realize there are challenging ones too. It is no secret that I have faced many storms with my father, and at times, struggled to think of him in a positive way. While the world paints a picture of islands, or Father’s Day, in a blue-sky type way, we know the reality.

Father’s Day has a unique feel this year. In year’s past I was focused on how I was different than my father, and on the joys of my own kids. This year, after the loss of a child, Father’s Day doesn’t have the same blue-sky feel.  I have been faced with the fact that we all face storms, and though we want to ignore them, eventually they’ll get so outrageous that we need to ask Jesus for help in facing them.

Father’s Day and calming the storm truly have a lot in common. Throughout this life we face storms over and over again. We return to Jesus, who is the only way for these storms to be calmed. Jesus gives us restoration with Him and with others. We celebrate that restoration. This year I celebrate restoration with my Heavenly Father and with my earthly father.  Though my earthly father is no longer on this earth, I await the time when I will celebrate full restoration with him.

Calming the storm is a reminder to the disciples, and to us, of what we need in this life. We want to paint our lives with blue skies and great weather. We want Father’s Day memories that are only joys and celebrations. The reality is that we face more than that, and we need God’s forgiveness and restoration. We can be full of joy knowing that God does this for us time and again. God forgives us and gives us the strength to live in forgiveness with others.

Later in his life, my father was great at admitting his storms. He so desperately wanted blue skies and great weather for his son, rather than facing the same storms he faced. I credit that to my father’s passion for reading God’s word. He saw what God wanted for us, and His willingness to do anything to get that back for us. While I am going to face storms in my life, I am thankful for my father teaching me to acknowledge and admit the storms I face personally. Like the disciples, I find that the only person who can calm my storms is Jesus. This year I encourage you to rejoice in the gifts of your earthly and heavenly Father. With your earthly father, may you treasure the moments together and the forgiveness you share in Christ, and with your heavenly Father, may you treasure His unending forgiveness, blessings, and love for you.