Peace Be Still

Cynthia Williams

Wow! It was another stormy night out here on the coast. Rain slamming the side of the rig and winds gusting to seventy five miles an hour. It takes me back to a camping trip I took with a friend several years ago. We camped out in a tent in order to save the cost of a hotel. (We really wanted to attend the women's conference.)

Lonnie and I spent the long week-end catching up, walking on the beach and attending meetings. On Saturday we arrived back at camp after dark and settled in for the night. As we talked about our day, and the things we learned at the meetings, the rain started falling lightly. Then suddenly, just as we were dozing off to sleep, the rain started pelting the tent and the winds gusted, beating against it so hard we thought the whole thing would crash down on our heads.

We were both getting anxious and somewhat fearful. We prayed for awhile asking God to calm the storm, but it raged on. As we lay there in our sleeping bags praying, with no seen results, I remembered a plaque I had seen that read: "Sometimes, God calms the storm." "Sometimes, he lets the storm rage and he calms his child."

Lonnie and I had been praying for God to calm the storm, like Jesus did when he commanded the wind and waves to be still.( Matthew 8:26) In this moment I stopped and prayed that God would calm us and keep us safe through the stormy night.

The next thing we knew, it was Sunday morning. The sun was shinning bright. The birds were singing. There was a refreshing scent of crisp ocean breeze in the air. All was well. God was faithful, as always, in his own way and time.