Help in the Midst of Life's Storms

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

5 July 2011

Luke 8:24 NIV

"The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm."

I waded today beside my childhood friend, Leigh, along the sandy coastline of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Almost six years have passed since our last walk, yet our conversation flowed as easily as the rising tide sweeping warm Atlantic waves over our toes.

Leigh and I first began walking in middle school. Slowly at first, like waves building energy off shore, and then with the fierce steadfastness of whitecaps confidently lifting surfers on their backs, we crafted an unsinkable friendship which has endured the rise and fall of the tides of our lives.

We have bouyed each other through the deaths of those close to us, loves both lost and discovered, and the raising of our children. She has been a constant beacon of hopeful light throughout the storms of my life. 

In high school, we arrived at the conclusion that neither time nor distance, like the endless roar of waves pounding the coastline, were going to erode the bond we had forged.

God's hand christened our friendship forty years ago. Like sailors searching the night sky for Polaris, we have kept a careful eye on each other. Our plotted course continues Westward while full sails flutter and propel us ever forward through the winds of change.
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Lord, bless all my friends. As the saying teaches, "Some are silver and the others are gold."