WHEN FAITH LEAKS OUT

And they came to Him and got Him up, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing!' And He said to them, Why are you so cowardly, you men of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:25-26

A family in the first church that I pastored owned a Christian camp. I was welcome to come out there anytime I wanted, so one day my youngest son and I went there to fish. We pushed a rowboat out into the water and got into it, then I rowed out on the small lake to a place where the water was deeper. My son sat up in the front, casting his lure out into the water. As he retrieved the bait, he looked down into the boat and said, "Look, I think water is coming in!" Though he was only about four at the time, there was no doubting his accuracy in this statement. Sure enough, water was already flowing over my shoe soles.

My immediate tension was eased somewhat when my son casually wound his line in, and then cast it out again! "Well," I thought, "at least he isn't scared of ending up in Davy Jones' locker!"

Summoning up all of the courage I could, I slowly put the oars back into the water, and turned us toward shore as I prayed silently for deliverance. I'll never forget that comforting feeling as the prow of the boat skidded up into the mud. Neither will I forget how a child of God taught his dad how a real child of God's faith in his Father never wavers. May I remember that the next time that my boat "begins to sink". May I also remember that rowboats have a bilge plug that you have to put into the drain hole before you go out into the water.

Davy L. Troxel