For me, one of life’s great pleasures is sailing, and I always hope for a steady ten to fifteen knot wind. Five to ten knots of wind is pleasant, less than five knots is boring; but the one thing I don’t like is when the wind exceeds twenty knots. In the size of boat I sail they call that ‘white-knuckle sailing.’ But I have sailed a few times in winds like that – even in forty knot gale-force winds. And the strange thing is that when I gather with my sailing mates to talk about sailing, those are the stories we always share. Why? Partly to show off, of course; but also because they are our most memorable experiences and made us better sailors, showing us what we were capable of. And so it is with life.
We all want life to be easy, but it’s the storms that put iron into our souls and, for people of faith, become the most tangible reminders of God’s presence.