Welcome Aboard!

We stopped to get pizza for the grandkids after the little league ball game today. It was a good game. They played hard and it ended in a tie, but it seemed to go so slow. It seemed like we were at the one hour and forty minute game all day. So needless to say, the 7-11 next to the pizza joint was shouting HAZELNUT COFFEE long before the pizza settled in our bellies. While we finished up, Laura headed next door to get them to put on a fresh pot, and with piping hot cups in hand we headed home. But as we drove past the lake it seemed too inviting to pass up. Laura and I dropped my hubby off, picked up the chairs, and headed back to the lake. (What a blessing that it is less than 5 minutes from the house.)

With our chairs planted just feet from the lake, we let the next couple of hours slip by just like the sand in an hour glass. It seemed so good just to stop. We faced the sun just beginning to head down, shared some, listened much, and simply rested.

At some point in the quiet, it seemed that the only thing that I heard was the sound of the little waves rushing to the shore beside me. I looked out over the water. Peace. A few sail boats. A couple of fishing boats. A small island. Quiet. Dampened sand surrounded us. The gentle winds were picking up a little. Suddenly my spirit was in the boat on the Sea of Galilee.

It has been several years since I have been there. One of my fondest memories of my trip was just soaking in His presence as I sat silently on the boat taking us across the lake. I let my mind try to fathom what it would have felt like to see Jesus walking across the water to your boat. The word says that it was dark, and that the winds were causing the sea to rise. At first they were frightened when they saw someone walking on the water. But when they recognized that it was Him, it says they "were glad to take Him into the boat" (John 6:21) "And immediately the boat was at the land where they were going."

Stirring from my day dreaming I heard the waves lapping faster. The wind was increasing. The sun was slipping in the sky. What an understatement I thought. "They were glad to take Him into the boat." They were glad?! They were glad?!

Me too! In the dark areas of life where I can not see...when the winds pick up...and the waves begin to rock my world...I too am glad...so very glad to take Him into my boat. But far too often I'm not still enough to hear the waves and feel the breezes blow. When the sun is sinking and the winds increasing, help me to see You coming. And I will gladly welcome you aboard, Lord. And we too shall make it to the other side.