ROUGH WATERS By Sally I. Kennedy

He....rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:25

Recently my husband was in Marathon, 'the heart of the beautiful Florida Keys', for a fishing trip with some guys. He said it was windy and really rough out. I could picture the boat getting slammed with the waves. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have even left the dock in this kind of weather, but the men were only there a brief time (so they 'had to go').

According to Ben, a fairly experienced fisherman, calm waters are usually close in to shore, near the land which protects it. The rougher waters are out farther, in between the shallow and the deep, over the reefs. The depth of the water, however, isn't what matters in how rough it is. Interestingly, more fish are usually caught in these rougher waters.

This particular day they were offshore about nine miles. The men got a banner catch that day, a bull dolphin and some schoolies. A marlin even took the bait, which is rare for this time of year.

I doubt anyone wants to get banged up and bruised from the 'rough waters' we all encounter in life. Nor be nervous, or afraid, to say nothing of perhaps not being able to 'fish'.

The rough waters we have can be calmed by the protective shore of Jesus, who is always there. He spoke to the elements, in nature, and they obeyed. He can also speak to our hearts, and supernatural calm can replace our rough waters.

That is good news.

Sally I. Kennedy is the author of "Irish Thursdays", "Words from the Heart", and "52 Little Parables from Ireland" . She lives in south Florida, with her husband Ben. You can email Sally at sallyikennedy@bellsouth.net and visit her website at http://www.sallyikennedy.com.