A statute of a ship captain

            I've heard it been said, but haven't tested the theory, that in the eye of the hurricane there isn't any storm.  The air is calm and the sun shines.  It's seems amazing.  But that's grace!  If we can learn anything from that we can see that even in the roughest, fiercest storms, He can put a place a peace.  He can give you a moment of rest.  A time of refreshing.  He can let you see His light shining and feel His warmth. 

            He is in total control of what happens in our lives.  Even the storms.  But be patient, He not only can calm them, He can stop them.  He can just raise His hands and it will all be finished.  But what if He doesn't want to?  What if He just brings you a moment of rest and then throws you right back into it.?  Will you be angry? Resentful?  What if He wants you to ride the storm out?

            My father used to have one of those little wooden statues of a ship captain with one leg, a rain coat and a pipe dangling from his mouth.  The storms had gotten the best of him over the years, I'm sure.  But from the look of it he wasn't going anywhere.  He had his bright yellow rain coat on and matching hat.  He would make it through another one.  And it would add to his character.

            He does the same with us.  He wants to build character into us, His character.  And sometimes, it takes a storm to do it.

            So when you see the clouds coming and the wind starts picking up, put on you raincoat and that matching hat and look ahead to what will come from the storm rather than looking at the storm that's coming.

SDG