Outta the Blue

"Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:23-26] The storms rose so suddenly and with such fury they took everyone by surprise. Three days after the storms hit on Friday, June 29th, many parts of WV, OH, VA and MD are still recovering and without power as summer temperatures and humidity continue to rise. Patience is running thin and stories abound of people desperate for fuel, water, food and just a place to cool off.      I've talked with the people cleaning up and found the same themes continue to be expressed. First there's shock that this amount of damage really happened here. Most people thought we were immune from this kind of thing. You expect this in Tornado Alley but not in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Second people are coming to the realization of how dependent we are on electricity and technology. Everything is connected. Water, food, fuel, phones, etc. are all on the grid. Perhaps we've realized that there is another god in our life we pretended didn't exist. As long as the storms stayed away, we could enjoy the illusion of control, power and sophistication.  But have the air conditioner stop working when the temperature reaches 90+ with >70% humidity and our sophistication, control and power look pretty weak.  We're really not that much different from the disciples (who were fisherman by the way) who were caught unaware on the  Sea of Galilee. A storm swooped down from the mountains Outta the Blue and rocked their boat. Who's in charge now? They turned to Jesus and guess what -- he's resting comfortably! How is that possible? Why isn't he as frantic as they are? Why isn't he as distraught as we are? I think that we, just like the disciples, become stressed out when our control, power and security are shown for they really are, an illusion and unreliable. We're forced to change our perspective on life and ourselves and that's not an easy transition to make.  Jesus, however, remained calm because in the moment of crisis, his perspective never changed. God's in control of his journey, God's plan is his life's work and God's security will deliver him. Perhaps that's why in the Garden Jesus trusted God complete and prayer "yet not my will, but thy will be done." (luke 22:42) When circumstances come outta the Blue, and they will, they are there to clarify for you where you're security, power, and control really resides.  So what can you do when Life Happens? (1) Realize this is an opportunity to trust God more, not a punishment to figure out. Don't spend all your time trying to figure out why God is mad, who did it, and what to do to get back on God's good side. (as if there were a bad side) (2) Reach out to others. Many people will be struggling to put their world back together and understand what to do next. This is a great opportunity for Christians to Do all the good they can! (3) Thank God for what you have. Develop a heart of gratitude that no storm can crush. When you no longer have electricity, TV, Internet, Cellphone, Facebook, Fastfood, or DVDs, you have friends, family and neighbors. Enjoy them! Talk with them, face-to-face. Work on your relationship! Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes God let's the storm rage and calms the child To have God in our boat doesn't mean sailing without storms, it means having a boat no storm can sink.