Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

We’re finishing our year program with a group of people I’ve come to love. Each is coming from varying challenging situations; each came with the hope of personal holistic growth. I’ve had the privilege of a front-row seat seeing how each person has tackled their stories to uncover deep-seated falsehoods that have played on a loop through their brains. I’ve watched the rebirth of courage and dreams.

I’ve come to value and appreciate them as friends.

Our final retreat is at the beach, which seems fitting for several reasons:

1. We’re in Florida, surrounded on three sides with ocean and gulf.
2. The weather is providing exceptional motivation to end well in sun and sand. It’s already summer-hot and sweaty.
3. It’s a reminder that in the midst of a culture that is constantly reminding us to “do” there are places where we can still “be”, embracing the power and beauty of nature. Even for a moment.
4. The majesty of the ocean reminds me of the ebb and flow of life which shows how we’re in constant transition, and the watery depths show a life-sustaining constancy that we need to acknowledge.

Watching the waves come and go, listening to the sound of the surf, settles me in ways that nature always seems to do. No matter how many people are sprinkled across the sand, I can focus on the faithfulness of the ocean doing what it was created to do–come, go, and sustain life beneath the waves.

What is a harsh reality is the presence of rip tides that people can’t really grasp. Here those trained to know what they can do, which is pulling people inexorably out to deeper water and get them caught beneath the waves, are the ones who inform when those precautions must be taken. People are warned to be aware, to be careful with how far out they go, to watch little ones who have no ability to fight those tides. Pair that with storms at sea that can do large amounts of damage to ships or even the coast (think hurricanes) and you have a natural phenomenom that is more than it appears.

There was a time when Jesus was preaching to the crowds and healing many with diseases and special needs. It had been a long day, and He indicated to His men to get in the boat and cross to the other side. He got in and fell asleep. A huge storm came up, and Jesus’ men panicked.

“The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ Jesus responded, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith.’ Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:25-26

The storms of life that strike us when we’re rowing on what we’d anticipated as being calm waters can be disruptive. We make plans that we’re pleased with only to have an unsettledness or changes we hadn’t prepared for.

As I’ve watch this group of people work through personal and corporate issues, I’ve seen them weather the challenges that we all encounter as we live and work with others. They’ve experienced Jesus calming their hearts just as He spoke calmness into His men and into the tumultuous sea. The disciples asked the question: “Who is this man?”, they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey Him.” Matthew 8:27.

Jesus seeks to calm our hearts and minds, putting to the rest the anxieties of life that pummel us continually with the power of His love and grace toward us. He’s greater than the power of the waves and storms that rock our world.

He’s our safe harbor.