If I was in the Boat with Jesus.

Every now and then, as I visit many Christian and Catholic Blogs, I come accross a post that is so good that it makes me wish I had written it myself.

Here is one I have found written by JADE. I invite you to visit her by clicking on her name.

If I was in the Boat with Jesus.

The moon casts silvery light over the sea.  Stars dot the midnight sky.  After whispering prayers to the Almighty One, I would have been tucked in my cozy cot waiting for dreams to come.  But tonight there is no looking back.  The dead must bury their own dead and the living must go on living.  Rather than being blissful in some artificial dreamland, I choose to follow truthful love.

When I see Jesus step into the boat and my friends follow, doubt dims my mind.  Maybe I shouldn't be here.  Maybe I should go back home.

And then my friends shout, "Come on."

And Jesus invites me, saying, "Come with me."

So I go into the boat, still doubting.  The moon is fiercely glowing and I can smell the salty sea.  I flick a bit of seaweed off my feet and sit down to talk with my friends.

And then suddenly comes the unexpected storm.  It floods all I thought I wanted.  Everything I desired is upturned in those waves.  The boat is filling fast and I panic; where is Jesus when you need him?!

He is fast asleep.  We run to him, screaming, "Wake up! We're all going to die! How can you sleep? You mean, you're not going to help us?"

Jesus looks at us with sleepy eyes that are filled with patience and understanding.  I know he understands me, at least, the way he looks at me.  It's as if he sees a good heart that wants to know him.

With one motion of his hand, he calms the waves and all is still and quiet.  At first, he says nothing.  We listen to the swish of the boat, feel the breeze in our knotty hair, and look around at each other in astonishment.

Then he asks us why we are terrified.  "Oh, you of little faith," he says and shakes his head.  In this moment, I am first offended, and later motivated to better know God.

Finally, I prayed this prayer:

I ask for faith for the doubtful, for the ones I think might be struggling, the ones I love, and the ones I have never met.  May they stay close to the Faithful One.  May they not allow the temporary storms to persuade them to believe that they are unloved.  In the same way, may they not allow their temporary doubt to keep them away from the wellspring of life that is in Jesus.  Amen.