I’ve been reading the story of Noah this morning, thinking
of the fear and apprehension the family must have felt as the great ark rose
and rocked on the waters and was thrown around in the waves and wind. All stability
had disappeared and they had nothing left to cling to – except the Rock of
Ages.
The last few months have been similar in some ways. Change of
circumstances and emotional traumas of bereavement coupled with the pain of
shingles threw my dear mother into waters over her head and she grabbed out
like a drowning person, desperate to regain stability and familiarity. Those closest
to her in the water at the time, Mhairi and I, were the ones she reached out to
and nearly submerged us in the roiling waters.
The last thing I would ever have tried to learn how to do
was life-saving in the swimming pool. It has always been much more likely that
I would be the one needing the saving, and the thought of some desperate and
frightened person using my head as a foothold to safety, thereby submerging me,
is enough to fill me with dread and panic. And yet here I was, with Mhairi, the
two people closest to Mom and so the natural ‘rocks’ for her to grab on to. In her
panic, that desperation came out in angry disbelief that we could be so treacherous
as to remove her from her familiar surroundings and then abandon her in a new
place full of strangers. There were times when Mhairi and I felt we could go
under ourselves. When the fleeting temptation came that maybe we should just run away. Give up. Abandon the whole situation.
But underneath were the everlasting arms. Jesus’ promise is
never to leave nor forsake us and boy have I found that to be true over these
turbulent months. He has been the rock on which we have stood and now, as the
storm abates and the waters grow calm, he is the one in whom we rejoice. He has
brought us safely through. He has filled my heart with songs of deliverance and
he has once again proven himself faithful, loving and true.
Thankful seems inadequate – deeply deeply grateful for his
navigation and life jackets. I am so grateful that though our lives often feel
like they are a great sea of unknowing, we are never really adrift or alone.
Jesus is always there.
No comments:
Post a Comment