In the Storms of Life- Two Poems and an article
by Anne Linington(258)
http://Faithwriters.com
Eye of the storm
He lies
Head cushioned
Sleeping midst the uproar
Of the surrounding storm.
Lightening forks the sky
Split-second flashes
Illuminating driving rain
Thunder crashes ever closer.
At rest amid the cacophony
At peace, not fearing,
He who created the components
And stills them at his word.
I seek him out
Drawing close to Him
Needing his warmth
His heartbeat's reassurance
That in the eye of the storm
He rests, he remains,
He reigns
After the storm
The blue-grey stillness of the sea rippling upon the sands
Belies the storm of the night before,
Pebbles dashed upon the promenade-
With such ferocity that they would remain there.
Further evidence of these ravages seen as
Insecure trees lie, roots exposed, never to live again.
Planks and plastic, unending evidence of man’s carelessness,
Cast aside to await costly removal.
Today, the sea’s edge glistens with small pebbles,
Gems sparkling in the sun, bathed in gentle ripples.
It is hard to imagine that the calamity and the calm
Emanate from one body of water.
Previously pounding in its power and strength,
Now gently caressing as a lover.
Mighty God, all powerful, yet ever-gentle,
Remove all that is of my making, without root and unstable,
And having done so,
Enable me to wait until your peace returns again.
“Lord, don't you care?”
We had flung those words at our beloved Master in the height of the storm, as we wrestled with the waves and feared for our very lives.
Looking at Him asleep on a cushion in the stern of the cramped boat, we had been unable to stop our fears exploding in angry accusation, at what we perceived to be His lack of concern. We weren't the only ones to have ever felt like that, remembering Martha's frustration at her sister's apparent lack of support; again the words, “Lord, don't you care..?” came accusingly.
Our day had ended uneventfully, and we little knew the lessons that we would learn, not only about our Master, but more searchingly about ourselves, and the lack of faith that we demonstrated under pressure.
After another busy day, Jesus had done what He so often did and wanted to spend time away from the crowds. Sometimes He walked up into the hills to spend time alone with His Father, God. He needed these times apart as He called them, sometimes early in the morning, others all night long, especially when He had decisions to make or challenges to come. We too enjoyed the periods when He would draw us to Himself, ask us questions and teach us more about His kingdom and who He really was.
So we found a boat and pushed out into the water, with the Master aboard. He was soon asleep in the stern with His head on a cushion and we took the strain at the oars. Soon the winds grew in strength, and the sky was ominously dark. We were familiar with how quickly a life-threatening squall could break upon this piece of water, and some of our number, seasoned fishermen were as scared as the rest of us. Sheer terror gripped us all as the boat rocked perilously from side to side; climbing one wave, it would crash thunderingly down the other side. With each wave we wondered if this was the moment we would all be thrown out, and be found washed up on the beach in the morning.
So we hurled our stinging words at Him, accusing Him of not caring whether we lived or died.
We had already seen some of His miracles; the water miraculously turned into wine; the crowd fed by the repeated blessing and breaking of the lad's lunch; occasions on which He healed, delivered and even raised the dead. Yet over and above these, was the greater miracle of forgiving sin, and the inner changes that we had seen in so many. That night we learned of His mastery over even the winds and waves.
His words cut as sharply as the whipping winds, revealing our lack of faith in Him, His loving concern for us and His power to deal with the present threat.
We will never forget that night, when our faith was put to the test and found lacking; We had been unable to realise that we had within our boat the very Creator of the elements that were buffeting us so harshly. He was just waiting for us to ask Him for help at our point of need, and deep down we knew that He did care for us.
The calm we sought, returned not merely to the sea, as the winds and waves subsided, but we found a new calm in our hearts, a new certainty about the person in whom we were placing our growing faith. As we reached the other shore, we got out of the boat, changed men, knowing more about our Master, more about ourselves and a renewed determination to follow Him.
Copyright Anne Linington
Article submitted Sunday, August 23, 2009 & read 439 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Marijo Phelps(386)
Oh, Anne, this one is a real Gem - grabs the reader's attention with incredible word photos and shows such wonderful HEART. MarijoRespond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (173 days 16 hours ago.)
HI Anne, these poems are very comforting to the soul. Thank you for sharing them. Many blessings to you! Marijo, sent me your picture -- you are as lovely as your writing and praise the Lord for how He is using you. Many blessings, TeresaRespond to this comment
» left by Anne linington from Isle of Wight UK (173 days 16 hours ago.)
Thanks Teresa- much appreciated. God has been so good. I can't believe it is only one week since my licensing as a Reader in the Church of England.
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