Sleeping Through the Storm

 

The picture is called Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt. You can read the story in the Gospel of Mark 4:35-41. As you read the story remember that the men in the boat with Jesus were seasoned sailors. This was
their living. They had been out in other storms, so they knew what they were doing. But they did not remember one this bad in years.

Imagine the scene on the boat. Try to put yourself in the state of mind that would make veteran sailors cry out, shaking Jesus, who, incidentally, was fast asleep. How can he be that calm, or is it that he just does not care? We recognize that we are in danger while this man is calmly taking a nap in the back of the boat! He fell asleep on a cushion. Is he that courageous, that crazy, or that foolish. How would it be possible to sleep with the boat bouncing from wave to wave? The waves washing over the boat should have been more than enough to wake Jesus!

The disciples finally shook him awake, grabbed him by his robe, and yelled in his face “DO YOU NOT CARE THAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT TO DIE!” It was not a lack of caring that allowed Jesus to take a nap. It was the confidence in his Heavenly Father, his belief in the one who created the wind, the waves, the very storm itself, could also provide safety from it as well.

When all seems lost, nothing is lost if you are in the boat with Jesus!

Squeeze It Tight

This picture is a sweet one of an 8 year old holding her mother’s hand. It is precious, but it is far beyond just being precious. It is Miraculous!

It is precious because the child’s hand is my granddaughter’s, and the adult hand is my daughter-in-law’s. It is miraculous because this picture is 8+ years in the making. It is a picture of hope --- hope of something that may yet be. It is the hope of what we hope will be. It is the first of something.

You see, Anabelle has been labeled as “Our Little Unicorn.” There is no name for the collection of symptoms she has. She defies description, medically. She has seizures and has had infantile spasms. All of these are under control as a result of a combination of keto diet and several anti-seizure meds. It is not that she is “low-tone” as they once thought. It is just that it takes incredible focus and repetitivesness to achieve coordination.

There definitely has been damage done developmentally due to the spasms and seizures she has survived. Her swallow reflex is an issue for her. There are many limitations: and yet there also have been some amazing accomplishments. She can prop up on her elbows to play with toys. She can make certain toys do what she wants them to do by manipulating them or pushing correct buttons.

She loves music and movement and rhythm and vibration. She is not as visually cued to recognition with people as she is by sound. For instance her grandmother made up a song for her, and she sings it to her when she first arrives to see her. Anabelle “knows” her more by what song she sings to her more than her appearance. Once she hears her song, then Anabelle lights up.

All of this to say that the picture with this article is a first. Anabelle has ben held, she has had people hold her hand, and she has had people carry her in their arms, but this picture is miraculous because it is the first time Anabelle has held someone’s hand in return. That brief squeeze is God helping Anabelle say, “I am here. I see you, I know you, and I love you.”

The next time someone holds your hand in return when you reach for theirs remember Anabelle, and thank God for the miracle of holding hands with someone you love!

Rev. Craig C. Krueger