Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” // Mark 4:38
Almost nothing about the last year and a half of my life has looked the way I thought it would.
In 2020, I anticipated graduating from college, starting work shortly after, and settling into a salary by the time I started graduate school in the fall. I wanted to start off my 20s by paying off my student debt and saving up for car payments (and maybe lattes, I admit). However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, so many of the plans that once gave me a sense of comfort fell apart before I even graduated.
Since I started my Masters program, I have applied for hundreds of jobs and heard back from very few. I go through seasons of truly enjoying my lifestyle as a full-time student, but most of the time, I am provoked by this lingering voice that tells me the Lord has forgotten about me.
Every time I hear this voice, I am reminded of the disciples in today’s Gospel, crying out to Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
Their question pierces me as I know it is so frequently my own question in prayer.
As I write this, I am still in the turbulent storm of unknowing and insecurity. Yet, I know as long as I am in this boat, I am called to be more like Jesus. I am not called to a lifestyle of anxiety or panic. I am not called to be frantic and worried. Like Jesus Who knows the waves and wind respond to the authority of His Father, I am called to rest in the boat.
This Gospel remains one of the greatest companions of my life because when I am flooded with panic about all the things I feel like I am supposed to be doing as a twenty-two year old, I close my eyes and enter this scene with Jesus. I see the storm swirling around us and, in response, I choose a spot close to Him where I can lay down and sleep.
Jesus, make us a people who can sleep through the storm.
Jesus, make us a people who can sleep through the storm. // @saraheerickClick to tweet
Sarah Elizabeth is a graduate student studying International Security. She earned her Bachelor’s in Politics from The Catholic University of America, and now resides in the Washington, DC area with her cat, Regina. Originally from Arizona, Sarah treasures iced oat milk lattes, mountain views, and Saint John Henry Newman.
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