3 minute read
Come
from April 2020
by Aimee Hays
The warm Sanibel sand, radiant South Florida sunshine, and refreshing ocean waves washed over my feet while taking my breath away. Stepping into the water along the shoreline as the waves gently kissed my sandy feet was exactly where I found comfort. Looking down, I could see my feet through the transparent water of the Gulf of Mexico, and I knew that the shark that was probably 10 feet offshore could not consume me for its lunch.
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Yes, as I attempted to relax at the beach, my mind told me to stay where I could see and know that I was out of danger. I guess you’ve figured out that I am not one of the brave souls who can lunge out into the deep, dark water beyond where I know what is beneath or around me. The constant, gripping fear of becoming shark bait wrapped my mind and kept me from having peace. Content and in control, I could stay on the shore!
You might be like me and want the control of being able to know exactly what is going to happen next in life, being able to see the next step, or to know what all is possibly going to happen around you, but I have learned that God does not want us to live on the shores of control. In Matthew 12:22, it says, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go BEFORE Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” Did you notice that it tells us that Jesus made His disciples get into the boat? It seems like they were not willing to go without Him, but He made them go! Letting go of what we want to do and trusting Jesus can be hard. In verse 24, it says, “But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.”
I imagine being one of Jesus’ disciples whom He made get into the boat while thinking, “Okay, Jesus, you are sending me out onto the water, and you’re not coming, too? Where are you going? Don’t you think you ought to come, too? What if we get out there and something happens?”
Jesus has a way of allowing us to experience situations where peace is not found in the safety of the shoreline,
where everything is idyllic and predictable. Recently, I found myself in the middle of one of life’s storms, and the deep waters of uncertainty and hopelessness surrounded me. I had two choices: succumb to the waves of life and give up or listen to Jesus call out to me as He did to Peter in verse 29: “So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
His grace abounds in the deepest waters. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and listen as He calls us, “Come!” Get out of the boat today and trust Him.
My name is Aimee Hays. I am a native Roman and graduate of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. I am married to my husband Tony Hays who teaches 8th grade and mother to Hunter and Landon Hays. I am an elementary school principal and educator of 24 years and have a passion for sharing the love of God with others.
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