Walking on the Water

     We attended a funeral yesterday for Kenny Barnett.  A week ago, Kenny and his friend Mara - both students at Conifer High School - were killed in a tragic, three-car accident not far from where we live.  It happened at night, on a dark road between Conifer and where we are currently living in Bailey.  Kenny's older brother Austin survived the crash, which is nothing short of a miracle when you see the mangled pile of twisted metal that was their vehicle.  For some reason, Kenny lost control of his vehicle and crossed the median line into the oncoming traffic where their car was struck by an SUV and a pickup truck.  The accident happened on Tuesday.  Wednesday night is the weekly youth group meeting for our church, and I am so encouraged by how our church team rose to the occasion to reach out to a community in mourning.  They opened the meeting to any young people from the school who wanted to attend, and over 100 came.  Our neighbor Danny went to the meeting, and he's expressed an interest in visiting the youth group again with our girls.  As a result of one tragic accident, the youth group has almost tripled in size.  Yesterday, I would estimate the crowd at the funeral to be somewhere between 200 - 300 people. I was amazed at how many came.   I told our pastor Mike how proud I am of how he and the church staff have handled this crisis, knowing that for most of the young staff team this is their first encounter with death and grief.  Daphne and I are praying that the Lord would move in the midst of the intense sorrow to bring comfort and healing - and that He would use our church and the two of us somehow in His plan.  We know from experience that families who've lost loved ones are surrounded by love and care in the midst of, and immediately following the crisis... but all too often feel abandoned and forgotten after the "events" are over.  I hope and pray that this will not be true for these two families.

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"And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.'  So He said, 'Come.'  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to Jesus." 
             Matthew 15:22-33.

     I have been stuck on this passage for a couple of weeks now - there are so many things about it that fascinate me, and so many lessons about how Jesus intersects with our lives.  Think about this:  the disciples had just seen (and participated in) an incredible miracle: Jesus fed 10,000+ people with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The crowd was excited, everyone was talking about it... and then it says that Jesus MADE the disciples get into the boat.  In French it is even stronger - it says, "Jesus obliged them to get into the boat."  In the disciples' place I would have said to Jesus, "Why?  This is a great place to be!  It's too early to leave.  What will the crowd think of us if we get up and leave now?"  And how often does Jesus ask us to do something that makes NO SENSE at all?  Even more, He may ask us to do something that will look completely bizarre to those around us, and just like the disciples, our actions could be misunderstood or even criticized.  But to their credit, they obeyed anyway.  Jesus, who hadn't had any time alone to grieve the death of his cousin John, went up on the mountain to pray and to be comforted by His Father.  He stayed there until 3 a.m. 
     Of course, the disciples took the only available boat - so Jesus just walked on the water out to where they were.  Remember, it's 3 am, so it would have been very dark, and Jesus would have to walk very close to the boat to even be seen.  They freaked out (who wouldn't?), until Jesus spoke His reassuring words, "It's OK - it's me.  Don't be afraid".  Jesus came out to them in a manner they were not expecting, and He caught them by surprise.  I know those who knew and loved Kenny were not expecting to meet Jesus in the midst of this tragedy... but He showed up anyway.  In a big way.  I have a sense that this community will be forever marked by the events of this past week, and like the characters in the Narnia series would say, "Aslan is on the move." 
     So, in the midst of the fear and confusion of seeing Jesus walking on the water in the middle of the night, Peter does the OPPOSITE thing to what I would have done.  I would have begged Jesus to get into the boat and calm the storm, like He did the first time.  But not Peter - he asks Jesus to prove to him in some astounding way that it really WAS Him.... "If it's you, tell me to walk on the water to you."  You've got to love Peter's faith and courage.  So Jesus simply said, "Come" - so Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water.  I sense there's something in this story for me today.  Daphne and I keep finding ourselves faced with circumstances and challenges that cause us to be afraid, or to doubt whether this is really part of Jesus' plan.  Like Peter, I want to say, "OK Jesus; it looks like you, and it sounds like your voice - but the manner of your coming is freaking me out a little bit.  So show me in some definitive way that it's really you."  I wonder how He'll respond?

    

     On a final note, I've been working hard to get my website up and running, to display and sell my artwork and photography.  The address is www.wildlife-design.com if anyone is interested to see my latest pieces.  I am now in a great position to print high quality prints onto canvas or watercolor paper, and the results are truly stunning. Check it out and tell me what you think!