Sunday, June 13, 2010

Seeing the dolphins

We have friends who are trained in the art of sail boating. In fact, one of them has a captain's license for boating on the ocean. I love to hear their sailing stories some of which are quite intense given the unpredictable nature of weather, winds, and waves.

From time to time and especially during the scary times on the sea, my captain friend explained that he would say a prayer. Usually within minutes--if not seconds--of praying, dolphins appear out of nowhere and in places where you wouldn't expect dolphins to be. And the dolphins always bring reassurance that things will be ok. And they are.

To hear of these experiences with prayers and dolphins, I'm convinced it's statistically impossible to explain them away as random or coincidental. This is one clear way that my friend sees the hand of the Lord in his life.

I've become more aware that the Lord is not trying to hide from us. He wants us to seek Him but He's not hiding.

I've lost count how many times I've prayed and asked the Lord to please communicate with me in a way that I will "get it" and understand. I've even said things like, "please make it obvious."

And He has.

We may not each have expertise in actually sailing large bodies of water but life itself still provides plenty of winds and waves that can toss us around pretty good. When these storms of life threaten to knock us down or drown us in despair, grief, pain, or loneliness can we see the "dolphins" God sends in response to our pleas for help?

Our "dolphins" have come in many forms and unexpected ways. There's no explaining away the Lord's hand. Our pleas from the hospital and now from home have been answered with reassurance that the creator of all things, even Jesus Christ, can and does calm the raging seas and calm the troubled heart.

I'm grateful that our turbulent journey with Talitha has had an ample supply of "dolphins" along the way. I look for them now.

And I'm seeing them more and more.

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