The JOY Collection- Chapter Three

Once upon a time in the deep waters of life, there floated a baby in a basket, swaddled with blankets of comfort and security. The rhythm and synchrony of the waves were her lullaby as her spirit slept on the waters. The basket was a mere transporter to her boat of peace. Her emotional epicenter was engraved into every curve and carving in the wood and structure of this ship. The Creator of life designed this ship for the volatile waves of life that were sure to come in her life. He built it to be her haven when life becomes unpredicted, uncontrolled, and uncertain. It would be her spirit’s safe zone; her place where she could pray, commune with the Creator, and fret not about things and situations that were beyond her control.

During her early years of life, the waves would come and go, but the prayers of her mother and father were a constant reminder of her ship of peace. She was shown how to run to the ship of peace and sleep in the hands of The Creator. Despite the swaying of the boat and the sounds of the waters crashing against the sides, she would close her eyes and be assured that the storm will pass….Yes, that “This too shall pass”! She knew it. She believed it. She expected it. And when she opened her eyes, the turbulence had indeed passed. The waves had calmed. Yes! This indeed was how life was meant to be!

As she grew in age and wisdom, the way of prayer became harder to trust completely. She began to think,

“It takes so long to close my eyes and just wait.
Maybe I need to do something more than just have blind faith.
Maybe…just maybe I can handle it and still be safe.
Maybe, if I just look over the edge,
I will be able to solve the problem instead.
I am older. I am wiser. I know things, too!
Just a peak into the waters and I will know what to do!”

Oh, how wrong she was! One look at the troublesome waters would awaken the greatest thief of her peace….FEAR. One glance at the out of control waves and the height it rose and crashed against her boat, robbed her of her peace. She thought,

“Oh My God! I am going to drown. The waves are too powerful. I will die!
God! Oh God. Where are you? Please stop the storm. Please hear my cry!
How can I trust You and You are not here?!
Someone save me. Someone…Anyone…come and take over and steer!”

Her fearful thoughts flowed throughout the boat like hot, boiling acid. The strength of the boat became compromised and the acid eroded the integrity of her safe haven. She let in FEAR and it flowed into everything. That which could withstand the storms of life was crumbling beneath her feet, letting in the waters of life.

FEAR fed DOUBT…
…DOUBT fed DESTRUCTION…
…DESTRUCTION fed HOPELESSNESS…

Her ship of peace was broken up into pieces. She swam in the waters, grasping for any emotion to stay afloat. She grasped for any remnants of the days of old where she once knew peace. She once knew security. She once rested in the prayers of the righteous. Now, she only felt hopelessness as fluid filled her lungs and she slowly sank. She closed her eyes and said a final prayer,

“Creator…Father…I was wrong!
My eyes should have never left my peaceful home!
My ways are not Your ways and I need help.
I cry out to You! I have come to the end of myself,
And I need Your mercy to keep me from drowning in this depth;
But even if you do not save me, I will still love You with my dying breath.”

The Creator of life….Giver of life heard her with an ever-open heart and released a raft of mercy that rose from below and carried her to the surface. She coughed up the waters from her lungs, clinging to the raft of mercy and knowing that her Creator heard her prayers. As she closed her eyes, her spirit began to pray again as she floats into the unknown. She no longer wanted to look at where she was going…how the waves were behaving. She kept her eyes closed and fixed on the Creator…Giver of life and mercy. She prays,

“Restore unto me our place of communion where Your voice I trusted completely,
Where it was only You that gave me true rest, never-fleeting!
I put my life back into Your loving hands.
I surrender my wisdom and yield to Your divine plans.
Remove the fear, doubt, destruction and hopelessness that has invaded my thoughts.
Remove the pain and shame of my current situation as I trust You though I feel lost.
My eyes will be fixed and locked on You and You alone.
My faith is back in it’s rightful place as I put You back on the throne.”

The crashing waves cease and the rhythm of the ocean has returned back to tranquility. Suddenly, the raft hits something hard and startles her awake. When she looks up, her eyes see the impossible. Her ship of peace is before her…completely restored with every detail the same as she remembered. Tears flow and only the words…“Thank you….thank you….thank you…thank you…” can be uttered. As she rises to stand, a figure in light approaches from inside the boat, leans over the edge, and reaches out to lift her inside.

His LIGHT meets my PEACE, triggering the end of his mission to restore that which was lost. As she steps into the vessel of peace, a bright beam projects vertically into the sky. In the sky, this light beam meets with the light of LOVE as they both illuminate the “Wellspring of Light”.

As I advance towards my place of wholeness, I notice the light is getting BRIGHTER and BRIGTHER. It calls to me like a beacon for the lost at sea. Soon, I will be reunited with my friends.