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A Morning View From the Porch at Lakeside

I did my annual walk down the dock and carried out the symbolic throwing of the stone into the water from the end of the dock. This action represents all the "stuff" that is necessary to give up to God which we hold onto and do not need to. This idea was shared with me by an Emmaus friend many years ago and it has become tradition for me to do as a symbol of my constant need to surrender the "stuff" to God. Since 2020 is different from any other year, I tried, with success, to skip the stones on the water. I thought I might just have some fun in the middle of the most unpredictable year of my life! 
As I was walking out to perform this small reminder of God's grace in my life, I observed how the wind was impacting the waves on either side of the dock. The wind was blowing from the west, the American flag was taut and the waves on the west side of the dock crashed over the wall in a wild frenzy flooding parts of the dock. The east side of the dock was relatively calm because of the barrier the dock provided. The side in the storm was wild and unpredictable while the side with a barrier, although not smooth, was calm and stable. I skipped the stones on the east side of the dock. 
Friends, we do face unsettled waters. We are in a strange and unpredictable time in our lives. We really have no clue of what is going to happen next in or world. I would prefer to believe that Jesus is ready to return from the beautiful sunrise this morning in the eastern sky, but I have no control of that glorious event! What I do know is that we often choose to struggle in the wind tossed waves of the west when the one who calmed the storm is our barrier from the East. We do not need to carry our stones of pain, fear, suffering, anger, hurt, betrayal and guilt when we are in relationship with Jesus Christ the storm calmer. I know the wave and struggles do not go away, but when we are on the proper side of the dock with the storm calmer, we can better survive in the waters set before us to navigate. 
Jesus will calm the storms we face each and everyday of our lives. Honestly 2020 is not a big deal to the Creator of the world! We need to take our small stones and skip them into the waters remembering the mark of God on us through our Baptism and embrace the grace afforded us from the Risen Savior! God is still in the business of calming our storms! 

“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. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”  - Matthew 8:26-27

Thanks be to God! 
Peace,
PB

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