Armchair QB-Audible this week
No, not that you can hear me, but I am gonna have to change things up, audible the play.
(Don't you watch football?)
Well, this weekend my husband and I went to Niagara Falls region with a friend and his son to fish and see the sights. I admit, I do not fish...probably not since I was a child. I get bored easily, talk too much, and annoy my husband which is why he goes fishing with guy friends. This time, tho, we were going out on Lake Ontario. I have also never been on a boat like this before, for this long, in a body of water this big, so I was nervous. Those of you who truly know me understand, I so did not want to be the wimpy girl puking over the side while the boys fished and were annoyed, but I was unsure how I would react. Thankfully we had beautiful weather and calm sea and just a pleasant, pleasant trip thanks to Captain Jimmy, his first mate Mike and the Boat Doctors. Not that it was without its own adventures....just saving that for another post.
On the boat this weekend, I was thinking of Bible stories like when Jesus called fishermen to be his followers. Have you ever really MET any fishermen? They are an endearingly odd tho very practical, crude but courteous, assortment of men who listen intently to nature's rhythms and hear them singing God's praises even if they themselves do not sing His praise anywhere more sacred than on the water. And what about Jesus walking on the water? Peter wasn't a novice fisherman; this was his livelihood. He understood water was not solid unless frozen. Still, when his Jesus called to him, he leapt toward Him. When have I leapt last at His invitation? Then what about when the poor guys were tired from fishing all night and Jesus sent them back out? We had a lull when nothing was biting except the flies, and I wondered, after all that time, if Jesus sent us back out, would we go without whining and wondering if He had lost all His marbles?!
As the boat rocked, this is the passage I thought of the most.
As a baby, I am told I was colicky. To get me to sleep, which meant to get me to stop screaming, I needed to be in motion. The washing machine helped sometimes, but usually a car ride was needed to put me to sleep. How dreadful to have to drive around every night hoping the screaming stops! To this day, I love to sleep in the car, tho perhaps it is the hum and the boredom (or general adult sleep deprivation) now.
On the boat, I was more relaxed than I have been in, well, probably years. I could have found my own pillow and curled up, much like Jesus, to take a nap.
The difference being, of course, that I had beautiful weather and Jesus' followers had weather that was quickly becoming dangerous. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
Did they know who Jesus really was? They called Him, "Master," but that was really just the same as calling my teacher, "Professor." If they knew who Jesus was, would they have panicked? If they knew Jesus had left heaven to restore a relationship with us, so full of love and grace that He would die in the process, would they have gotten so upset? "...we're going to drown!"
(Don't you watch football?)
Well, this weekend my husband and I went to Niagara Falls region with a friend and his son to fish and see the sights. I admit, I do not fish...probably not since I was a child. I get bored easily, talk too much, and annoy my husband which is why he goes fishing with guy friends. This time, tho, we were going out on Lake Ontario. I have also never been on a boat like this before, for this long, in a body of water this big, so I was nervous. Those of you who truly know me understand, I so did not want to be the wimpy girl puking over the side while the boys fished and were annoyed, but I was unsure how I would react. Thankfully we had beautiful weather and calm sea and just a pleasant, pleasant trip thanks to Captain Jimmy, his first mate Mike and the Boat Doctors. Not that it was without its own adventures....just saving that for another post.
On the boat this weekend, I was thinking of Bible stories like when Jesus called fishermen to be his followers. Have you ever really MET any fishermen? They are an endearingly odd tho very practical, crude but courteous, assortment of men who listen intently to nature's rhythms and hear them singing God's praises even if they themselves do not sing His praise anywhere more sacred than on the water. And what about Jesus walking on the water? Peter wasn't a novice fisherman; this was his livelihood. He understood water was not solid unless frozen. Still, when his Jesus called to him, he leapt toward Him. When have I leapt last at His invitation? Then what about when the poor guys were tired from fishing all night and Jesus sent them back out? We had a lull when nothing was biting except the flies, and I wondered, after all that time, if Jesus sent us back out, would we go without whining and wondering if He had lost all His marbles?!
As the boat rocked, this is the passage I thought of the most.
As a baby, I am told I was colicky. To get me to sleep, which meant to get me to stop screaming, I needed to be in motion. The washing machine helped sometimes, but usually a car ride was needed to put me to sleep. How dreadful to have to drive around every night hoping the screaming stops! To this day, I love to sleep in the car, tho perhaps it is the hum and the boredom (or general adult sleep deprivation) now.
On the boat, I was more relaxed than I have been in, well, probably years. I could have found my own pillow and curled up, much like Jesus, to take a nap.
The difference being, of course, that I had beautiful weather and Jesus' followers had weather that was quickly becoming dangerous. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
Did they know who Jesus really was? They called Him, "Master," but that was really just the same as calling my teacher, "Professor." If they knew who Jesus was, would they have panicked? If they knew Jesus had left heaven to restore a relationship with us, so full of love and grace that He would die in the process, would they have gotten so upset? "...we're going to drown!"
But, it is easy to look at the guys and think, "What schmucks! They had Jesus physically with them," all the while not looking at my own life. The difference is that I know the end of the story so I know who Jesus is. Do I live like it tho?
How often do I freak out, "Now what am I going to do?! How am I gonna pay this?! How do they expect me to do that?!" This can be in any area of my life that I feel the waves crashing upon me. So many times I don't continue in calm confidence that God goes with me. Instead I slip and sputter and cry out, "Save me!"
For this week, my meditation is that the Ruler of the Universe is in my boat. If He is with me, how is anything going to topple me? If He is with me, how might I not need to react to every little jerk of my boat?
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