He Saw Them Toiling (March 21, 2023)

 We started the 24-hour drive 😅 to Utah last weekend to visit family for spring break.

Six hours in we hit a huge snowstorm in Illinois. It was the middle of the night. We scrambled to find a hotel on the map, & each minute we crept forward until we got there was TERRIFYING!!

I was never so relieved to see a Comfort Inn! We came in from the blizzard (squeezed our family of 8 into the very last room available) &, traumatized, evaluated the routes to Utah. Every one had severe weather warnings.

We had a decision to make, & after much evaluation & prayer, we decided that driving 18+ more hours wasn’t worth the risk. We sadly, but resolutely, drove back to Ohio.

Once we were home, my 14-year-old son thoughtfully told me, “Mom, before we left we prayed we would have a safe trip. Maybe that’s why we came back.”

Maybe so ❤️ It was not what we expected, but our way forward was… backward. Safe from the storm.

This week as I read about Jesus sending his apostles on a ship while he stayed behind to pray, I WEPT. Because a storm came while “the ship was in the midst of the sea” & Jesus afar off “saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them” (Mark 6:47-48)

There it is-
HE SAW THEM. He saw them struggling in the storm.

He saw us in our literal snowstorm.

And I feel with all my heart that He sees me in my figurative storms, oars in hand, straining against the wind.

He didn’t abandon them. He didn’t forget them.

And in their darkest hour, He walked across the water to get to them.

It wasn’t what they expected- they were scared at first! Imagine their relief & awe when they realized it was Him ON THE WATER.

They weren’t alone.

Neither are we.

He rescues & heals & calms in unconventional ways.

Walks through our storms to us.

Sometimes in the first watch- but sometimes in the fourth.

“When we must wait, rest assured that the Savior is always watching, ensuring that we will not have to endure more than we can bear. To those who are waiting in the fourth watch of the night, perhaps still in the midst of suffering, do not lose hope. Rescue always comes to the faithful, whether during mortality or in the eternities.” Elder Alvin F. Meredith III