Many of us have home improvement projects we are working on. Some of these projects involve major renovations, such as room additions or remodeling. We all know it’s important to start building our home improvement projects on a firm foundation. We are fellow workers in Christ who are not just completing renovations on a firm physical foundation, but on a firm spiritual foundation. This doesn’t apply only to our homes but to our parish communities. Many of us have experienced parish life at some point in our lives in parishes that were built on the rickety foundations of worldliness, extremes of ethnicity, gossip, secularism, and the like. We have encountered backbiting and cliquish behavior that is unbecoming of a Christian.
Building on a solid spiritual and physical foundation is the best preparation for the inevitable storms of life. The church is our ship to get through those storms of life. Presbytera and I had the opportunity to spend time in Guatemala working in the Hogar Rafel Ayau Orphanage.
Guatemala is most certainly a very beautiful country with its lush green tropical jungles. Presbytera and I had the opportunity to hike among the ruins of the lost Mayan city of Tikal. It was a wonderful and educational experience as the Mayans are to Guatemala and Central America what the Greeks are to western civilization.
The return plane ride to the orphanage really brought home the meaning of life storms and their impact. About ten minutes into the flight we encountered a severe storm—so severe, that the plane was going back and forth, up and down like a roller coaster. This was a frightening experience that tested our faith in God. One of the flight attendants reminded us that this was the rainy season in Guatemala and this was normal—translate that as the stormy season!
Perhaps some of you are dealing with your own life storms. You may be caring for an ailing parent, or facing the roller coaster of caring for someone dear to you that has a server degenerative illness, such as Alzheimer’s. Even during these storms of life, God is there to give strength and comfort while we weather the storm. God is there because he knows that it is during the stormy periods of our life that our faith often gives out. When our faith is giving out and we fill that our spiritual ship is sinking, this is the time we really need to bolster our faith by praying to God. These are times for praying the Jesus prayer and asking for the Theotokos to intercede for us. It is when we ask the Lord for help that He answers our prayers and stretches out His hand to save us and bring us back to the lifeboat—the Church. Perhaps it may not happen instantly, but in God’s time, he responds and the response is exactly what’s needed at the time that response comes. It is Christ who helps us weather the storm and who calms the raging tempests in our lives.
St. Herman of Alaska is a living example of a saint who lived under the most austere and stormy conditions imaginable. He built a cave to live in on Spruce Island, about a mile and a half from Kodiak. His clothing consisted of a bear fur coat, his cassock and riasa, both of which were patchworks of ancient fabrics. He did not have the conveniences we take for granted. There was no heat, electricity, or appliances. Yet God took him to a higher level through prayer and fasting. What makes Saint Herman so amazing is that he was a Wonderworker who healed fatal diseases, including a flu-like disease that killed its victims within a few days. That horrible and fatal disease had struck the local area around Spruce Island and Kodiak.
We are living temples of the Holy Spirit. As the children at the Hogar often put it, we are living lifeboats bringing God’s grace to them and to those around us. These children are thankful for these saving acts no matter how big or small they may be in our eyes. The Holy Spirit works through each and every one of us to bring God’s grace to others. Saint Herman was a living example of being positive and faithful during severe storms. The most severe storms of life related in the Scriptures would almost have to be the trials and tribulations that Job endured over the course of his life. Job lost everything: cattle, home, family members, even his health. Yet he stayed positive through it all and kept up his prayer life even though his family members urged him to give up on God and die. Why were Job, St. Herman, and countless others able to keep a positive mind set in spite of so many severe obstacles?
The reason for that is very simple: BIG is God! Our Lord’s divinity and humanity are integrated, unconfused and undivided for our salvation. His greatness brings us to greatness. This is why Christ told his disciples that through Him they will do even greater things on this earth than Christ Himself did during his earthly ministry. It is through solid faith in Christ that they and we will move mountains!