So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:29-30
Two years ago last summer we were sitting on the front porch enjoying playing with chalk. Normal requests for racecars and butterflies had filled our concrete canvas with colorful creations (Say that three times fast.)
Kolton was sitting across from me and Kadence sat in my lap “helping” me add a little flavor to the otherwise average sports car drawing. Suddenly, the wind shifted and gusted around the corner of the porch. A large patio chair was positioned just perfectly to catch the wind came barreling towards us.
I didn’t think. I just threw myself toward the chair and over my son… (Who was sitting with this back to the chair) covering him and my daughter while simultaneously pushing the chair away.
My son hadn’t seen the chair take flight. He only saw me jump toward and cover him. He thought it was the silliest thing in the world.
To my daughter (who saw all of it) the sudden wind change and the flying chair terrified her. It didn’t matter that I had covered her. She was terrified of what she didn’t understand and what she had experienced. She hopped up with tears in her eyes, ran inside the house and peeked at me through the window.
Perspective is everything isn’t it?
The chair didn’t come at my daughter any more than it came at my son… but she lived that moment differently. She will always remember that moment differently than my son… even though the events were the same. The difference between my son and daughter that morning was focus.
I am reminded of a story in scripture. The disciples were to take a boat across a lake and Jesus basically told them, “I’ll catch up to you guys later.” Well, here comes Jesus walking on the water in the middle of the night and everyone was terrified.
Peter, always the audacious one, tells Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you… tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” Jesus replies.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
It is so easy to think, “Come on, Peter! Why did you take your eyes off of Jesus and focus on the things that could harm you while you were in the presence of the only one who could save you?!”
When, really, we do the same thing ourselves. That pile of bills is sure getting bigger. That doctor’s report hasn’t come back yet. We still need to decide what to do with _____. What am I going to do about ______.
All while Jesus is whispering, “Just look me in the eyes. I’ve got this. I see it all too. As a matter of fact, I see the test results. I know exactly where the money is coming from. I know what you will do about ___. I have a perfect plan for what you need to decide on _____. Just keep your eyes on me. I am enough.”
I opened the door to my house and gently called my daughter back out onto the front porch.
“Sweet girl, mommy wasn’t going to let that chair get you. I covered you didn’t I? You’re okay. See? Mommy moved the chair and it won’t come at us again. I am right here.”
And Jesus says the same to us.
I believe that peace comes from perspective. We often cannot change our circumstances, but we can change our focus. We can look into the eyes of the one who made us and say, “I know that whatever comes my way, you’ve got me covered, and I would rather be here in these circumstances with you, than anywhere else on my own.”
