I was out for a walk on a beautiful early summer day, listening to an episode of On Being with Barbara Brown Taylor, one of my favorite writers on matters of faith. She was talking about how, no matter whether we are “spiritual” or not, we have everyday opportunities to experience reverence – if we’re looking for it. “These days when people tell me they don’t believe in a higher power, it occurs to me weather is a higher power… there are many things around us beyond our control that are greater than we are.”
Her observation made me laugh out loud. Of course the weather is a higher power! I’ve had to change or cancel plans based on rain, air quality, and heat five or six times in the last month alone. Even the most important and powerful among us can’t make the sun come out on a rainy day. Weather is a daily reminder of just how small we are, and how little we can control.
This came to mind when I read the gospel text for today, a story in which the wind itself is the antagonist.* Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and responds to his invitation to step out of the boat, confident in his trust of the one who calls him. But then comes the wind, and Peter loses his focus. Worrying about the weather, he forgets the faith he was so sure of just a moment before and begins to sink.
Like Peter, I, too, get distracted by the unplanned and the unpredictable. But worrying about things we CAN’T control drains our energy and focus away from the things we CAN. When we feel the winds of life begin to kick up, we can spend our time worrying how small we are compared to the hurricane, or we can get to work piling up the sandbags. We can’t make the sun shine, but we can do our best to be a light to the world.
–Erica Lloyd, Seekers Church
For further reflection, I offer some audio inspiration:
• Krista Tippett’s interview of Barbara Brown Taylor: https://onbeing.org/programs/barbara-brown-taylor-this-hunger-for-holiness/#transcript
• Dale Erickson’s version of “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” I’m normally not one for “praise” music, but I learned this song at a time in myself when it felt like a life raft and I’ve clung to it ever since: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De8JHcqqkOw
