Happy to be back. Blessed to walk with you.
We are in the middle of a storm. In fact, I'm rushing my writing to store Camila's toys from the backyard, secure doors etc.. The news prevent us from strong winds and rains that may cause flooding. Its name: Sandy... Almost "The Perfect Storm" for its complexity climate...
Similarly, these last few weeks have been equally stormy for a friend of ours in the Dominican Republic. It all started as the intersection of opportunity and possibility to meet one of his biggest dreams... The process? Tears... sadness... tiredness... depression... despair... Similar to the Jesus' disciples in the boat:
24 A terrible storm suddenly struck the lake, and waves started splashing into their boat. Jesus was sound asleep, 25 so the disciples went over to him and woke him up. They said, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 But Jesus replied, “Why are you so afraid? You surely don’t have much faith.” Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.
How could Jesus sleep in the midst of the storm? How big could the boat be? The Bible says that "waves started splashing into their boat." Could it be that Jesus was a heavy sleeper? Could it be that Jesus was very tired? or Is it that Jesus was very CONFIDENT?
With all gentleness, respect and consideration, the disciples came to Jesus and screamed: "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"... Just for waking me up that way, I would've not concede the miracle, but Jesus is different: Staying calm and giving a life lesson, concedes the wrongly asked miracle.
Our friend in Dominican allowed us to be part of his struggle in the final weeks of his "opportunity of a lifetime." He knew what he had to do, I knew how to do it, he was more than capable of doing it, and being totally honest, his opponents were not a problem... the problem was that our friend was "IN THE EYE OF THE STORM". My wife and I knew that, so we were gentle with him... We were not in his storm... We saw and felt his despair and pain, but we also saw ALL he had on his favor... Like Jesus.
Today Jesus tells us: "I'm out of your storm... not because I don't care, but because I see beyond... I'm out of your storm, but with you in your boat... Everything will be alright because I am with you..."
The solution isn't having no storms. We will always have storms... Storms are necessary. The solution isn't to survive the storm... The real solution is to ensure that Jesus is with us in the boat of your life and instead of watching the wind hit you, look at Jesus freeing peace through the snoring of his tired body... Put your eyes on Jesus and experience the peace that allows sleeping, even when the waves of your problems seem to flood your life... Look at Jesus resting, not on the boat, not in the middle of the "care" of his disciples... but in the arms of his heavenly Father.
I have my storms... And sometimes I scream to God: "I'm drowning", but quickly secure the quilt over my beloved carpenter, accommodate his pillow and dry the drops of desperation that I spitted on Him... I sit next to him to hear him sleep... Not because He doesn't care, but because what matter is not the size of the storm, but the size of my God... And if he's in the boat, I know I will not die.
Oh! By the way, my friend? He fulfilled his dream. He won the acting competition he was part of for four long months presenting new challenges every Sunday. He glorified God and today is celebrating its grand prize... sitting on the shore watching the sea and waiting for the next storm.
JUST SAYING!!!
God bless you,
Pastor D
David Pimentel
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