Inspiring Faith from the Sea
“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:28-29
Sunset PCB FL
Spending time at the beach this week, one of my favorite places on the planet. One of the things I like most is just sitting on the shore looking out to the ocean, miles and miles of ocean. I have been coming to the beach for all of my life and all of my life I have looked with wonder and awe at the expanse of the sea. For as far as the eye can see a kaleidoscope of blue and green, this always leads me to contemplate ancient explorers. I think of the mammoth ships and the large crews facing the expansive ocean. Mostly I think of Christopher Columbus, not exactly sure why but I guess being American he was always the one we talked about in school “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” I think of how much faith he must had to say ‘yep I am going to sail far beyond what you see and I believe I will come to India not drop off the side of the world.’ Because as I look out upon these miles of blue, the line between the ocean and the horizon cuts like a knife! For sure I would say you are going to fall of the edge of the world, idiot! Could you leave all that you know, all that you love, on the belief there is more, the faith that you would be alright as you reached the seeable end of the world? I don’t know.
“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
If we only had the faith of a mustard seed….It is a tiny amount to ask for, but I must confess I rarely have it in my possession. How many times in our lives do we have the chance for something great! To explore a new world metaphorically? To have the opportunity for greatness? Yet, we have no faith, we are afraid to even get on the boat the set out on the journey the adventure of our lives? Think if Christopher had not had the vision the “faith” to set forth he would have never found the new world.
Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
My prayer for you and for me is as we look out onto the ocean of our lives and we get into the boat. That we have the faith to try, to believe in a higher power, to take the chances. God gave us the gifts, we are the people who believe even though we haven’t seen, we are the children of God, he is within us, we are each individually unique and made with a spirit that can soar if we just have a little faith! Tell me how you exercise your faith today!
Get in the BOAT!
Love,
Cameron
#EPLotusflower #loveyourself #loveyourneighbor
Episcopal Lotus Flower in Bloom 
I take that same wonderful long look toward the horizon every time I go. And God always finds a way to tell me “why are you thrashing about so? I got this.”
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Love this! Thanks for sharing.
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