Contemplating Life--Part Two

Well, I'm really brain dead and tired after school and typing up a letter of my grandmother's, but I have to do this while it's fresh in my thoughts.
By the way, off topic, but don't you just love this picture? White tulips, but one with a stripe of purple. I love flowers. I love nature. Storms are especially wonderful, and the past couple of days have been enchanting. Though now it's sunny. Life...

Contemplating Life... In my second to last post I talked about life and change as what it appears to be when looking back on it and my view of life from my writings. Well, last week I read the story of Jesus Christ walking on water a few times (Matthew 14: 22-33) and we had a lesson on it in seminary. Thus, it's been on my mind, even as I wrote part one. So, here's part two: My Thoughts on Walking on Water.

(As a quick note, last November my wonderful mother went to Israel. The following pictures are ones she took at the sea of Galilee.)

So, I'm assuming you know the story. After feeding five thousand, the disciples go out on the sea to wait for Jesus as he prays on a mountain all night. Close to dawn a storm arises (notice that I mentioned storms earlier) and they are alarmed as Christ comes towards them, walking on the sea. He calls out to them and says, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (I love those words!) Then Peter asks to walk on the water.
(v. 29) "And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." I think this itself happens to us a lot. We have a desire to "go to Jesus" and to heed His call. But it takes getting out of the boat. To banish all fear and unbelief out of us. And when we do, we can walk on water. The getting out of the boat and walking on the water itself is very much a test and trial of life. We endure, we learn, and we keep our eyes on Him...
(v. 30) "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me." ...But sometimes we start to feel like we're drowning. It gets hard to focus on him and to be strong. All we can do is cry out "save me". How many times do we do that? How many times do we feel so afraid, so despairing, that those words escape our lips?

I don't think faith can fully exist with fear, but I think this was a very important moment for Peter. We tend to, in this story, focus on his lack of faith, but he had faith. He had the faith to step out of his comfort zone and to tread a seemingly impossible path. But he also had faith, when sinking and being utterly afraid, to cry out to the Savior. He had faith that he could be saved.
(v. 31) "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" The word that really stands out to me is "immediately". Christ immediately saved him. I think that, if we try our best, when we most need the Savior, he is immediately there. He hears our plea.

But does he say to us, "oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" In my own thoughts, I interpret this as an admonition to remember that the storm and walking on water is to teach me to have faith that He is guiding me. The storm can help us reach a greater potential. It can make us stronger. He knows we can't always be walking on the water, but we can follow to Him, keep our eyes on Him, and, when we feel like we're drowning, rely on Him to save us. That, is a lesson of life for us, not just for Peter. And I think that we can walk on water, metaphorically, if we just have faith to do it. The future is always bright, and there's always reason to have faith and hope, if we keep our eyes on Christ.