Waves can be mesmerizing. It is such a treat to visit the ocean and watch them come in… wave upon wave, some with more force than others. But they keep coming.
Waves. Simple watercolour.
Storms come. I remember well a ferry ride we took from Vancouver Island to the mainland in late October of 1995. It was a stormy day and the waves were treacherous. As I sat, rocked by the waves I had a conversation with a gal who took that route frequently for work. She was unsettled, and told me it was the worst she had ever seen, the waves crashing higher than the car deck, shaking us all. I was a recent widow, and wanted to get home to my children!
We were very relieved when we had a rather rough landing and safely departed onto land. It had been a frightening ride.
Our planet, our global community has also been on a frightening ride. Wave upon wave of pandemic, and right now we pray for India, and Brazil, where thousands of people are dying. We pray for our own country, where we are not immune, and hospitalizations are on the rise in a mad race with vaccination roll outs.
I am weary, quite frankly, of the opinions that this isn’t real, or a conspiracy. When you work in a hospital, you see the weariness of staff, the sadness of those who are impacted very personally by this virus. But this isn’t meant to be an opinion piece. It just saddens me.
Yes, we are all tired of the storm. But that doesn’t change the reality of it.
My comfort comes in the words of Jesus, who spoke to the waves. “Peace. Be still”. Jesus also said, “In this world you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world”.
I hear those words as a balm to my soul. As I breathe deeply, a breath prayer emerges. Peace. Be still. God is here, among us.
The treasure of Peace
