By Teige Weidner
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"-From Mark 4:35-5:1, New International Version
I remember storms when I was young, but one in particular stands out, the Jan. 20, 1993 Inaugural Day storm. The Northwest was hit by a wind storm. Wind speeds at my family's home were close to 100 miles per hour! This was only my family's fourth year in the great Northwest and I have to imagine they were thinking "What did we get ourselves into?" It is the first time I remember seeing my parents afraid. As much as I don't want to admit it, my parents were Californians, and they were not used to the shower of tree branches that were pounding our house. Questions streamed through their heads, "Will the power go out and for how long? Do we have enough food, water, supplies? Will the house be damaged, how much will it cost to fix?" The questions just kept coming.When I hear the story of Jesus calming the storm I can't help but see the faces of my parents on that day. As the house went dark and the electricity went out, I remember my parents running frantically to get lanterns, candles and to check how much food was in the house. I, on the other hand, was staring out the huge sliding glass doors (despite my parents constantly telling me to get away from the windows) into the back yard. The hundreds of tree branches on the ground and the prospect of days off of school led me to one conclusion: Build a fort the likes of which no one had ever seen. The disciples were much like my parents while they were in the boat. They really thought they might die out there on the water. The uncertainty must have been all but overwhelming. This story really shows the duality of Christ. He is so human in his need for sleep. He must have been exhausted after preaching all day. The man was sleeping through a storm that the others thought would kill them all.And after he is woken and shows his divinity by calming the seas and the wind, he has such simple words for them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" I have to imagine the disciples felt pretty sheepish after that.Living in Shipstad and at UP I, like most of us, am feeling uncertainty. We are facing our own storm of sorts and, like the disciples, it may seem chaotic and distressing. But Christ calls us to have faith. We believe that God is in complete control. Not stifling and legalistic, but a caring, loving, and very real control. No matter what happens, whatever storm life brings, God will always be a rock for us to cling to. Last Monday night, we gathered in Shipstad to pray for the safety of our friend and shipmate Juan Garcia. I also know that friends and family of Ted Karwin are also facing a turbulent storm with his death. I ask you all to continue to pray with us for Juan, Ted and their families in the midst of all the uncertainty. God, the master of creation, holds all of us and is not absent or asleep to this situation. We ask for the faith to cling to one another and to our hope in God.Teige Weidner is Shipstad Hall's assistant hall director and Campus Ministry program assistant
