"I will give you perfect peace..."

In this time of trial,
pain that no one sees...
Trust me when I say,
that I will give you perfect peace...

...and though I may not
calm the storms around you
you can hide in me..."

I love Laura Story's "Perfect Peace," because of the compassion it represents to me.  There are have been so many times in my life when I have berated myself for not having prayed "hard enough."  So many long nights when I have thought that if only I had prayed sooner, longer, better I would not have experienced whatever storm I was going through. 

But this song reflects what I have come to believe with my entire being.  That just because I am expereincing a storm, it doesn't mean that there is something out of divine order. 

In fact, in his parable of the house built on the sand/rock, Jesus has helped me see that both houses...the one built of the sand and the one built on the rock...are beset by winds, waves, and storms.  The difference is not the presence of the storm, but how well the house withstands the weather. 

The house built on the rock survives.  The house built on the sand...falls.  But both houses are under siege. 

Yet how often have I given up on my prayerful self because I think, "Well, if you can't forestall the storm, you must not be praying 'right'...right?"  And since the prayer I was praying was the only one I'd been given by God, I must not really know what God sounds like..."  Sigh.  Such a looser...

No!!

The storm is a beautiful opportunity to strengthen my sea legs.  Each storm makes me a better sailor.  And each storm better prepares me to model a more consistent calm, when the next storm hits...my house or someone else's.

And right there, standing on bedrock, with my toes dug in deeply through the surf and sand, I can feel that "perfect peace" that Laura sings about.  Laura and her husband Martin, are both deeply committed spiritual thinkers who faced a hurricane-like storm when Martin was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.  This storm, rather than shake their faith, has strengthened them spiritually individually, and as a family.   I am so moved by her willingness to share her expereince through this song. 

May you, too, find "perfect peace," in the midst of beautiful storms...

with Love,

Kate
Kate Robertson, CS

"Here is the link to a post from a few years ago, title "A House that Will Not Fall." it also explores this parable, and many of the ideas may seem like they have been re-cycled, but tonight's understanding of them is all fresh and new.  Besides that, I just love the Jonatha Brooks' song, "I Try," that it includes a link to.