Rock the boat.

The readings for yesterday could not have been more on point. (Read them here.) Love letters signed, sealed, and delivered just at the right time. 

Last summer, I really took the story of the multiplication of the fishes and loaves to heart. In a way, I really felt God take the little love I had been dying to give and multiplied it so I could love even more. God took the little that I had and made it more than enough to share with everyone I was to meet.

The gospel yesterday was what happened after the miracle. Jesus sent them ahead on a boat to Bethsaida while he remained to pray on the shore. As the disciples rowed their boat, a terrifying storm shook them and tossed them about the sea. Jesus saw them, and at about the fourth watch of the night, they saw Jesus walking towards them on the water. They were terrified at the sight of him.

“Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.” Jesus got on the boat and the storm died down.

After having just witnessed the incident of the loaves, anybody should have realized the great, supernatural, and divine providence of God. What need is there for fear? Instead, their hearts were hardened.

I can’t say I wouldn’t have felt what the disciples did. The heart hardens when fear strikes because it has been deceived to think that it is its way of protecting it. That that’s how one takes courage. When in reality, that’s how one hides, cowers, and self-destructs when it is actually an occasion to rise above. After having experienced even only a fraction of the ineffable and unfathomable greatness of God, why should I ever turn back even when faced with a most terrifying storm in my life? 

The true courage lies in the faith that no storm could break us, that there is no such thing as abandoning the boat that God places us in. It is much easier to abandon that boat and abandon the journey than it is to sit still, trust, and witness the life-changing miracles that will carry us through the stormy seas.

Sometimes, I wonder why it was necessary to go through everything that preceded my existence to happen so that I would come into existence. Nevertheless, I am so thankful that God created me because then I am able to come to know Him and of His love that changes lives, that adds color to this world, that makes everything around us a miracle. That allows us to experience true peace, true joy. To be alive and to be tossed about in this tumultuous sea of life is a gift in itself because to be alive is to crave to love and be loved, and I know of no greater experience.

The older we get, the rougher our walk of life seems to get. Things we never expected to happen happen. Bad seems to get worse. The good seems only to be a thing of the past. My prayer is for my heart to remain open, childlike, and always hopeful. These storms will surely pass and if we keep our hearts open, love is sure to enter. Love is sure to always make things new. To forgive when we are sorry. To find us when we’re lost. 

I think love is the journey. Nature may have the power to shake even the most rooted trees or stir and disturb the stillness of the oceans that fill the earth, but love can change the course of nature. It is beyond what we simply know to be natural, to be possible. Love walks on water, sits still, drives man crazy and out of his wits; love heals the deepest pains. Love simply is. Take courage because to love is to not grow cold when it burns. Take courage because love is to burn even brighter when the rest of the world grows colder. It is to continuously bear the burning of the light that brings us clarity, fullness, and life. True courage lies in loving under any circumstances. No matter what. Unconditionally. The fullness of life lies in being able to love even when the storms of heartbreak, loss, hatred, and pride shake us. Simply because it is who we are. 

Rock the boat that says otherwise. Rock the boat that tells you to settle. Rock the boat that tells you to stop giving second chances. Rock the boat that degrades the beauty of life and love because this is all we’ll ever know. May the rest of our lives be filled with love that grows, that nurtures, that creates, that reminds us that nothing is impossible.