Ascension : News From the Grotto
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 29.06.2006 (Article Archived on 13.07.2006)

This week we hear a lot in the readings about storms. Christ is the Lord of the storm. It is a timely subject, just as hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean kicks into gear, especially for those who have homes and or families in the United States that are in the hurricane zone.

  The last few years have been especially severe, and many have watched from Ascension and wondered what shape their house would be in when the winds abated, and the floodwaters receded.

I’ve read many stories about disasters at seas, and people who have survived the storms that have claimed their boats.  I knew three people back home who had to abandon the sailboat they were sailing from Nova Scotia to Bermuda in a massive, and unexpected storm.  They were rescued from their life raft by a US Navy helicopter.  The lady gave a talk at our Sail Squadron social.  For two hours, even knowing obviously that they all survived, her story kept us at the edge of our seats.  It was a story of fear, courage, adversity, and ultimately survival. 

The one thread that runs through so many of the stories of these survivors is of a faith that may falter but never fades.  Ultimately it is what sustains them through the long hours of their ordeals.  After surviving on rooftops and trapped in attics in New Orleans, how many of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina said that they thanked God for their rescue, and that it was their faith that got them through the long hours, and it was their faith that would help them to rebuild their lives?

In the readings, we hear about how it is Christ who will calm the storm.  He will still the winds, and calm the waters.  Eventually every storm will pass.  As savage as they may be, eventually, as it says in the psalm, the quiet will return; the storm will be stilled, and the waves will be hushed.  The bright skies will appear, and the sun will shine.  And all will rejoice in the calm. 

The storms in our lives are like that – they may be sudden, or slow building, they may be fierce, and at times it may seem like we won’t survive.  But we do, and eventually the bright skies return.  The worst is over, and we find that we are still standing.  We may be standing in a field of debris, and we may have to pick our way carefully through it, but we are alive, we have survived, and we will be okay.  It might take some work, but if we rely on our faith, we will get through it.  If we always remember that Christ is the Lord of the storm, we can lean on Him, and let him guide us through whatever the storm has left behind.  And we will be all right.

So when the skies in our lives turn grey, let us always recall the lessons from the Bible, and know that our faith in God will help us survive any crisis.  He will guide us through the darkness, and back into the light.  He will heal the wounds to our hearts and souls, and he will make the sun shine upon us once more.