Article April 18, 2005 Issue

MY BEST FRIEND

Establishing oneness with God in a remote part of Mexico

By Jonatha Wey

"Keep paddling" is what our sea kayaking instructor yelled as we headed out to open seas. It was Day Three of a four-day course off the coast of Maine. She went on to explain that if we stopped paddling at the sight of the waves, we would be at their mercy. But if we kept paddling, we would continue to move forward,, have command of the wave, and also be safer.

I have since thought of that instruction to "keep paddling" many times when the waves of fear have come at me. Sometimes they are little waves. Sometimes big swells. If I've not been alert, I've been taken by the wave. When I've kept paddling—praying for God's support as I go along—I've proved how right our instructor was.

I've consistently been strengthened by a verse from Psalms that says that God is strong enough to calm storms, to quiet the wind "down to a whisper" and "put a muzzle on all the big waves" (Ps. 107:29, Eugene Peterson, The Message). And I've proved that true with waves of all dimensions.