Asking Why in the Storm

"I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word" (Psalm 130:5).

This year has been strange to say the least. After eight uneventful pregnancies, I lost two babies to miscarriage, and then we, along with so many, entered into the strangest time of quarantine, the loss of the access to the Sacraments, and isolation. So many have lost jobs, and homes, and security. Others have lost loved ones and the blessing of good health. This is the storm.

And while I tend to want to come up with my owns answers as to why—Why did I lose these babies, Lord? Why have You allowed so much confusion and change? Why is there no publicly offered Mass?—I see myself in the shoes of the disciples out in that storm. And I hear Jesus admonish me too, so tenderly, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26)

It's no surprise to me that the disciples found Christ in a storm. Suffering purifies us; it burns off the chaff and exposes us truly. All we can be in a moment of deep suffering is exactly who we are—desperate, hollowed out, and totally in need. And it is there that we find the one thing to cling to: the Cross of the One Who suffered for us and the Suffering One Himself.

I am sure He will turn and calm these waves, just as He did on the Sea of Galilee. I may not see it yet, or feel the balm of His calming presence, but Our Savior is here. Lamb of God, God with us, Bread of Life, You are here.

Suffering purifies us. // @blythefikeClick to tweet

Read what this Church Father preaches on Jesus in the storm.