When I was about twelve, Dad bought a canoe. We went out for a trial run in a nearby reservoir. It was him, my Mom, my brother, and me. Steven and I sat in the middle, Mom in the bow (that’s the front) and Dad steering in the stern (that’s the back). Dad, being a Navy veteran, taught us how to tell port from starboard. Starboard has two r’s; therefore it’s the right side of the vessel. Every time we would wobble and rock from shifting weight, my heart would want to explode out of my chest. Imagine my first motorboat outing, sitting in the stern when it sped up, bow coming out of the water, smashing down. It took a long time to convince me to ever go out in a speed boat again. I got more comfortable as time went on, even spending twenty years in the Navy. The bigger the ship, the better I felt!

 Boats play a big part in the Gospel stories. The famous one of Jesus being asleep in the stern when the winds churned up the waters of the sea (or lake). The terror-filled disciples (I could relate!). Calming the storm. We trust the captain. He (or she) knows what they’re doing. They care about our safety. Wouldn’t it be nice if that translated into aspects of our life? Storms come up, and we are often ill-prepared. When I watch the movie “The Perfect Storm”, the fear is almost palpable. The storms we are currently experiencing have been testing our trust and patience. We might find ourselves thinking, “surely God must care enough to bring an end to this pandemic and all the strife it has caused”. What is His purpose in this? The situation seems to get worse, not better. We know what the Bible forewarns. We are coming into the season of hearing more prophecy from Jesus about the end times. There will be more trials, worse even than this. This is why we trust Captain God. He is the one we can rely on to navigate and steer. As His passengers, we can know for certain what our destination is. He has charted our course. Though the waters rage and foam, when you feel like you’re going to fall out of the boat or be shipwrecked, just believe in the unconditional love of Captain God.

Pastor Art