In this weekend’s passage of the Holy Gospel, we receive yet another glimpse of the humanness of Jesus. After feeding the thousands, using just a few loaves a bread a couple of fish, He decides to send the disciples ahead in the boat while He dismisses the crowd. Finally, He is all by Himself and He heads up the mountain to pray! Prayer…communicating with the Father was of great importance to Jesus. We see examples underlining this all through the Gospel. This once again is a lesson to us. If we expect to strengthen our relationship with the Lord, we need to COMMUNICATE WITH HIM on a regular basis. Think about it! None of us becomes closer to any other human being unless we talk with them and share what is happening in each of our lives. Communication with God doesn’t have to be a two hour period at a certain time of the day. Seize the many opportunities you have each day to praise God…when you see a beautiful flower…or a new born baby!!! It’s an easy thing to do. Every time you get a red light and are sitting in your car, think about the light as Jesus telling you, “STOP, talk to Me!” Back to the Gospel story…the disciples are crossing the lake in the boat and a storm arises. The disciples become fearful as their boat is tossed about in the sea. Jesus approaches them walking on the water. What? At first, the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost. As Jesus came closer, they recognized Him and called out to Him to save them. Jesus reached out his hand to Peter and Peter, probably not thinking, got out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus on the water. As Peter got his wits back, he realized He was walking on water and then began to doubt. He began to sink. Jesus reached out to him again and said, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?” They both got into the boat and the wind died down. Whew!!! When I read this Gospel passage this week, I remembered an experience I had many years ago. I went on a sailboat ride on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. It was a big boat and I was sitting on a seat next to the side of the boat. The wind was high and the waves were as well. When the boat made a turn, the boat went on its side and I was about three inches from the water. My heart was pounding. I was never so glad to plant my feet on the dock when we returned to shore!!! Just as the disciples were losing confidence in the Lord, I had lost confidence in the captain of the ship!!! Each of us needs to renew our faith in the Lord, knowing that He will take care of us through thick and thin. Easy to say, but tough to do! In the middle of a dark winter’s night, in a small Midwest farming community, the two-story home of a young family caught fire. Quickly, parents and children followed their well-practiced emergency plan and made their way through the smoke-filled home out into the front yard. There the father quickly counted heads and realized that their 5 year-old son was not among them. Suddenly he heard a wail and looked up to see the boy at his bedroom window, crying and rubbing his eyes. Knowing the danger of reentering the house to rescue his son, the father called, “Jump, Son! I’ll catch you!” Between sobs, the boy responded to the voice he knew so well. “But, I can’t see you, Daddy!” The father answered with great assurance. “No, Son, you can’t see me, but I can see you! Jump!” At that, the boy jumped into the smoky darkness and found himself safely cradled in his father’s arms. Our Gospel today is about trusting – about having faith – about being able to discern the fact that our God is with us. GOSPEL QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: How high is your trust level in the Lord?