As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. —Mark 4:35-39 (NIV)
While we were camping,
a stranger made a mistake,
and blamed me
for her predicament.
She was too angry to be reasoned with,
and I knew I wasn’t responsible
for her disappointment.
Yet, I was caught in a stormy loop
of justifying and second-guessing my decision
not to rescue her.
It didn’t subside
until I woke Christ,
sleeping in the tent.
When he saw the storm,
he looked at me and said,
“Well, that was unpleasant.”
The wind stopped,
and there was a great calm.
But the storm resumed
the next morning
as I rode from Oliver to Summerland.
This time, Christ was asleep
on the back of my bike.
So I awakened him with a song,
Make me an instrument
Born of your peace
As I let go
As I release…
I sang it again and again as I rode,
and Christ reminded me
that whatever decision I made,
he would be with me.
Then, he shifted my focus
from moralizing
to noticing
how much power this had over me
and feeling
the storm gently subside.
And it did.
I cycled on in peace
with rocky bluffs on my left,
Okanagan Lake on my right,
and a tailwind behind
until I got a flat.
Then, I awakened Christ
on my cell phone,
and Fred picked me up,
spotting my red jersey
a mile away.
Make me an instrument
Born of thy peace
As I let go
As I release
Make me an instrument
Humble and free
As I awaken the living Christ in me
–Kurt Van Sickle
An Everyday Pilgrim 