While I was cleaning the kitchen and rocking out to some praise and worship tunes from the radio this week, an older Lauren Daigle song (“Rescue”) began to play. I hadn’t heard that song off my itunes playlist in a long time, for good rea- son. Suddenly past and painful memories floated before my eyes. I dropped my dishrag and fell to my knees in the middle of the kitchen. I just let the words and the rhythm wash over me, wondering how I actually made it through, still standing, still praising the Lord, still smiling and filled with joy. You see, about this time last year, my life was a little… shall we say, out of control on all fronts. A storm raged in every direction and my little life-boat was out in the middle of a dark ocean, battered by the never-ending and powerful waves.

I was in over my head on so many levels, trying to keep it together, not letting anyone know of the drama and the pain going on in my life, let alone the state of my weary soul. So many days, as the sun dropped and the night wore long, I’d whisper to the Lord from the deepest longing of my heart, “Do you not see me struggling down here? Did you forget about me? I’ve got nothing left here. You have to calm the waters, like you did for Peter (Mt: 14:32). But if that’s not the case, then I definitely need your grace, like you gave to Paul when he was on his knees in the midst of his pain and suffering” (2 Cor 12: 9).

And then this Daigle song entered my airwaves, an answer to my desperate prayer.

“You are not hidden.

There’s never been a moment You were forgotten.

You are not hopeless.

I hear you whisper underneath your breath.

I hear your SOS.

I will send out an army to find you, In the middle of the darkest night It’s true, I will rescue you.”

It is indeed true, you know. The Lord is at the ready, able to give you the grace you need to survive those disastrous and powerful tidal waves of life. For storms will come, that’s a given. Free will makes the world a broken place, despite its sacred space in the universe. We need the gift of His grace, unmerited and unfathomable as it is, to navigate the high and low tides, and every waterline in between.

Eventually my storm abated, though not without some serious collateral damage. I’m still mending some sails and updating the Captain’s log while basking in the peaceful and calm waters resplendent with the Lord’s grace. That very same grace is available to you, and I think we know where to find it. And that, my friends, is really great news.