Jesus fell asleep on a boat in a storm.

Read that again! He actually fell ASLEEP – as in, no care in the world, just drifting on off to slumber-land.

He fell asleep on. a. BOAT! Like, what? A rocking, swaying seasickness-sucker. He just lay on down, fluffed his pillow (did he have one?) and fell asleep.

Ok, and here’s the kicker, he fell asleep on a boat, IN A STORM! A full-on raging wind show that plummeted the boat into tremendous swells…bobbing like a bouy. A storm so ferocious that people were actually bailing water out in a frenzy of redundancy to avoid DROWNING. Actual drowning!

And Jesus? He was asleep! On a boat. In a storm. Because he could! Because He knew the end of this little tale in history. Because He knew the immediate relief He could level on the storm, for the people in the storm.

When Jesus woke up, or rather, when he was shaken by his boat-mates (is that what you call them?), his first reaction was not “Bro, leave me alone! I’m sleeping!” He immediately got to work and calmed the storm – shut the wind off with the flick of his tongue. Hush pervaded the dark night on that dark lake.

Next he turns around and asked his mates (ship-mates?), “You still don’t trust me, eh?” He didn’t ridicule them for their fear. He didn’t laugh at their frantic efforts to rid the boat of storm water. He didn’t exaggeratedly marvel at the size of the storm and the startling fact that they were all still alive.

He asked about TRUST! I think, if I was on the boat that night, he may have asked me this question; “Michelle, why didn’t you take a nap with me?”

Then at this point of the evening, questions are being answered with questions (is that allowed?) and the sailor-men (am I getting it right yet?) asked each other – not Jesus – how Jesus can calm the wind and waves with just a whisper. Cool question guys… I like your logic. But, I just have one follow up question… Who is this man, Jesus, that can SLEEP ON A BOAT IN A STORM? And, strong contender in the question line up: Can I have a nap too, please!?

So here’s my theory… if Jesus can fall asleep on a boat in a storm. Then… I can too! I can rustle up that proverbial pillow and settle down next to him. I can fall asleep on a boat in a storm, because Jesus is in my boat. Because Jesus knows the end, the beginning and all the in between bits and pieces.

In the flurry of my fears and my sully storms of anxiety, I have decided to fluff my pillow (it’s white in my imagination, which is a bad idea on an old-school boat, I think!) and lay my head down for a worry-nap. Not in real life, because school pick-ups and dinnertime mayhem must be attended to. But I do take a moment to picture myself asleep on a boat in the storm that is my anxiety. My head resting inches from the Saviour of the world, the Prince of Peace. And I whisper to him; Jesus, if you can sleep on a boat in a storm, then I can too. I relinquish my need to hold all things in my tiny fingers. I let go of my control. I can let my fears slip away. And I can choose to trust you… trust that you can calm my storm, stop the wind and repair my boat. I choose to trust that you will right the topsy-turvy tumult I find myself in, you only have to whisper. I choose to trust that I can rest easy in you – that my body can rest in HOPE while you fill me with the joy of your presence. I choose trust. I choose to see you in the boat, in the storm, for who you are. Prince of Peace.

I know, it might seem a little strange to conjure up a picture of myself asleep on a boat. But as I picture myself in that space my anxiety seems to settle, the swell of worry dissipates and my body finds rest in hope. My mind finds peace.

Jesus fell asleep on a boat in a storm.
I can too!