The Storm of Conflict, The God of Wind and Waves

     My magnolias are blooming! They are especially beautiful this year, but what you can't tell from the picture here is the raging storm that was going on when I took this. The winds, lightning and rain that came through yesterday were impressive. They snapped our flag pole and at least three times I looked out to check for a tornado.
     What is amazing to me is that the flowers of this shrub remain elegantly intact, undamaged, unmarred, unruffled.
     In contrast, I have been anxious and 'ruffled' for days. There is a storm blowing into so many overlapping circles in my life that it is a bit hard not to be impressed by it's force. It has developed because of the beliefs, words and actions of local and national ministries/homeschool community participants of which we are a part in numerous ways. One side sees the other as either uninformed, compromising, dangerous, or all three. The other side sees the former as intolerant, embarrassing, dogmatic, or a combination.
     We are solidly on one side of this disagreement; we can't see a way not to be. I believe the same can probably be said of the others as they consider their position. My husband is employed by the organization, and works with the man, who represents one side*. We are friends with people close to the center of both sides of this issue, nationwide, in our community and even in our own church, which is constantly trying to be unified amidst the tension that these conflicting viewpoints create. Next week we will be hosting out-of-state friends and colleagues who are some of the 'opposing' side's closest friends. The social network commentary and fallout is huge.Taken all together I have been feeling battered by the swirling winds of conflict, jarred by flashes of false accusation and pelted by the torrential rain of social network outpourings. I have been far from unruffled.
     This is the third time in a month that I have been confronted with deep and disconcerting convictions within my circles that are at irreconcilable odds with one another. This morning my agitation threatened to overwhelm me until the Lord reminded me that He is not anxious at all. He is not wringing His hands over this. He does not sit upon His throne, divine head hung in despair wondering what to do. He's got it all under control. It may look intimidating to me, but He is all peace.

Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
 And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
 They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"  
Mark 4:35-41
Jesus is still in control of the winds and the waves. My job is to fear not and leave it all to Him.


* (For the record, I agree with the doctrinal position of G's organizational leader, but often do not agree with his tone. My only satisfactory means of addressing that is through prayer and I consider this squall to be an unpleasant, but potential answer to some of those petitions. God works all things together for good in these situations, and I have seen Him do it over and over again. It is my hope in this one.)