A new roommate, Ice Skating, and a whole lot of faith.

On Valentine’s day, my floor went ice skating. Leading up to the event I was slightly nervous due to the fact I haven’t been ice skating in years. The promise that I would not be the only one shaky on ice calmed me. My new roommate was encouraging and we had many laughs leading up to the event. When we got to the rink and had our skates laced up, we stepped onto the ice. She picked it up pretty quickly and was doing great.

Meanwhile, I got acquainted with the wall. I would concentrate and be going ok, then get distracted or nervous and cling to the wall in fear of falling. While trying to figure out the ins and outs of skating, I remembered the story of Peter walking on water to Jesus. When Peter got out of the boat, he was fine, looking at his Savior, He walked towards him. The water walking came to an abrupt stop when Peter saw the surroundings and started to sink.

Recently, I got a new roommate. My former one moved to another floor when her friend’s roommate left. When I was told I would be getting a new roommate, I was terrified. I didn’t know the girl that would be moving in with me, and wasn’t sure if we would get along. All the stereotypical bad roommate situations ran through my head. But there was also the hope that we would be great friends. So, I prayed, and my family prayed. God answered our prayers in a beautiful way. My new roommate hasn’t been in the room long and we are already great friends. We laugh and have an amazing time together. I didn’t know what was going to come of receiving a new roommate, but I had to have faith that God would be there no matter what happened.

Sometimes when life gets stormy, and we are going through uncertain circumstances it can be easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. It feels great to sing Oceans in church, but when the things we sing about in the song actually happen, the test begins. We trust Him during the calm waters, but when they get shaken up, we pay more attention to our surroundings than Jesus. He wants to take care of us, show us His love, and teach us during the hard times, but if we take our eyes off of Him, the task becomes more difficult than it could have been. How comforting to know though, that just like Peter, Jesus will lift us up and save us when we drown. He doesn’t let us sink as punishment for wavering, He saves us.

Jesus answered a prayer for me that I had had even before the roommate uncertainty. He brought an amazing new friend into my life. He took the stormy waters in my life and calmed them. What about you? What storms in your life do you need the miraculous hand of Jesus to calm? He can, but we need to seek Him first. Instead of looking at the waves, thunder, and lightning, look to Jesus. Sweet, beautiful, and powerful Jesus.