I recently heard a wonderful analogy for the peace God offers us. In a Charles Stanley devotional titled, “Finding Peace” (day 2 on the Bible app) he describes the peace of God with these words:

On the surface, the winds can sweep across the sea at 40, 60, 100 miles an hour, with blowing rain, lightning, thunder, and an overpowering darkness. Waves can rise to 20, 30, even 50 feet high. A ship in such a storm can be tossed about like a toy boat. It’s easy for an oceangoing craft to be lost in such storms. But underneath the surface, just 100 feet down, there’s no storm. All is perfectly quiet. No sound. No tumult. Not even a ripple of turmoil.

Bible app devotional, “Finding Peace,” day 2, Charles Stanley.

Very recently my husband and I returned from a 7 day cruise in the Western Caribbean. It was a truly spectacular trip! Allow me to set the stage for why this analogy is so relevant, and the timing so thoroughly impeccable.

My husband and I met at a time when we had both truly given our futures over to God and His plan. We both had significant pain and loss in the years leading up to that day when the Lord truly changed everything in less than a heartbeat.

For his part, my husband lost his love of over three decades to cancer, and with his wonderful children, walked a painful path through grief. For my part, I was truly lost and on a painful path of my own, with several significant losses over a short span of about three years, with the subsequent aftermath in the form of severe and frequent panic attacks.

In the midst of our simultaneous walks through pain and grief, God provided exactly what we needed to get where He wanted us to be. The first thing God gave me was a soul sister… no, we were not born to the same parents, but we were created by the same Father, and He made us sisters long before we ever came to this world. So when my world fell apart all around me, I had a beacon of God’s love in the darkness.

It didn’t make sense to many in my life at the time, but choosing to make a home for myself in a new city and state just because my sister lived there, was exactly what God was telling me to do. By listening to Him over the voices of the world, I was led to the love of my life. I was led to the life I was meant to live, with a family I love and feel honored to be a part of each and every day.

However, in the beginning of our relationship, it seemed as though all of the external things in our life went sideways all at once. We’d only known each other for three months when we decided to walk out on the beach at sunrise with the woman who brought us together and a minister, joining our lives together as the sun rose on the horizon.

Because so many things were off the rails in one way or another, we chose to enter marriage with more of a whisper, than a shout. It was the right choice at the time, but we came to realize that we both wanted to experience a little bit of the wedding magic, and we wanted to renew vows that were made before we really knew what they meant to us.

The end result was a renewal of vows by a pastor who has been a dear friend and valued shepherd to both of us. We dressed for a wedding, had a little cake and a little champagne, and were blessed to have my sister with us, both as my maid of honor and a much appreciated photographer. I have to say, it was the most precious day of my life.

The next day we left on a cruise to Honduras and Mexico. In spite of frequent high winds and a VERY rocky (and I mean very noticeable rocking) ride, we had a spectacular time! Ever since we took the time and gave honor to our marriage, again inviting the Lord to come deeper into our union, we have grown even closer than we were.

Upon returning home, we jumped back into life as usual, however, where there are strides towards God, Satan is always going to focus energy in trying to bring discord where there is peace.

It started Sunday night and Monday, as I sat in my house, all I could feel was the continued ticking of the ocean, as if my body was caught in a storm, but my mind was in the calm underneath. By Tuesday morning, the continued rocking sensation brought terrible motion sickness. I haven’t been able to read more than a few sentences at a time, much less put my glasses on, without getting motion sick. It’s prevented me from working, from writing, from doing my bible study, and even walking a straight line.

As if that was not enough, the enemy began to work on my mind and my spirit, dragging me up from underneath the storm. All week I’ve felt more like the boat being tossed around on the surface, than the fish continuing forward unconcerned with the storms above.

I am so very grateful to have been given an anchor to God in my marriage. It has kept me aware that I’m not alone. It has been a reminder that I need to put my trust in God and His grace, to focus on drawing my strength from Him alone, and from not allowing the disappointments in my life and relationships to impact my choice to live under the storm, at rest in the calm waters of faith.

It is true that actions always speak louder than words, but if we focus on that in the people we love, we will always find reasons to feel hurt or slighted somehow. What we must focus all of our hope and trust on are the words and actions of God. When I look into the eyes of my husband, I see just one of the ways God has kept His word to me. Granted, it is by far the biggest example, but the list of examples is endless.

Focus on your blessings. Focus on being the person you want in your own life, and don’t waste time worrying about whether you’re getting what YOU think you need. Choose to trust that God always makes sure you have what you really need. So if you don’t have it (no matter what “it” is at the time), you have to be at rest in the knowledge that you’re actually okay without it until you have it again.

(This post brought to you via talk to text over the course of 4-5 hours… my world may still be rocking, but it felt important to figure out how to post this anyway)