Thursday, November 7, 2013

He will Calm the Tempest

Hello Super Grover Mommies! It's been awhile!! Life has been busy and with the holidays upon us, it's just going to get CRAZY! And can I say just for the record: I'm SO GLAD HALLOWEEN is OVER! Seriously, a week and half of candy coated events is enough.

Over the past two weeks... no let me go back. Two Sundays ago we were sitting in church and Allen left to use the restroom, leaving me with all four kidos on my own. Ephram has reached the age where sitting for longer than five minutes is impossible, the girls were fighting over a crayon and the meeting was wrapping up which means packing up the church bag. I was starting to feel like the world was closing in on me when a sweet sister in the ward slipped into the pew next to my girls. They stopped fighting and started talking quietly to this sweet lady (she leads the music in primary, so they know her really well). She helped them clean up their crayons and put them in the bag. It gave me a tiny breather and helped me feel so cared for. At that moment I looked over to see what Riley was up to. He was quietly reading the Friend (a church publication for children). I saw the title of the article he was reading: He Calmed the Tempest. This hit me like a ton of bricks. It honestly took my breath away. This tiny sentence was there as a message just for me from my Father in Heaven.

He calmed the tempest. The story is from Mathew 8:23-27.  To paraphrase: Christ and his disciples went on a ship so the Master could rest.  As He was resting a Tempest or huge storm came up. This storm was so violent that the waves were covering the ship. Many of the disciples were fisherman. Seasoned in working on ships, and they were afraid that the waves would sink the ship. I can see them doing their best, using all their skills and learning to save themselves from the terrible storm. They couldn't understand how Christ could sleep though such a storm.

Finally they woke  Him up and said: "We perish".  In more modern English I think it would have come across like this: "We are all going to die!!!!" But that's just me.

Christ got up and said to them: "Why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith." This was the Master. The sea would not swallow Him up. He then arose and rebuked (express sharp disapproval) the winds and the sea. In my mind's eye and can see the wind being naughty and being told to go to time out for throwing a temper tantrum. And then there was a great calm.

This has been kicking around my head for the last two weeks. The word tempest means: a violent windy storm. I have felt that storm. When the noise and the chaos gets to be too much and I feel like I'm about to scream if something doesn't stop, I have felt the tempest. When the walls around me are closing in and I am feeling flustered and upset, I have felt the tempest.

I guess what got me was while things around me may not change the Lord can calm the storm inside of me. If Christ can tell a horrible storm that made fisherman scared, why can't He help me to calm my mind when things are going too fast or when things are too loud. 


I am so grateful for this moment and the several moments I've had since. It has helped me to know that I matter. Even when my problems seem small compared to others, they feel SO big to me. I know my Savior is mindful of me, and knows what I need. Isn't that a wonderful thing?