a more peaceful ending

today was a vaguely unsettling day.

a feeling of something not quite right somewhere in the world persisted at the back of my mind for most of the day.  i didn't like this, not one bit, nor did i know the cause of this unsettling feeling.  i tried various things to shake it: a prayer, a primary song, telling a trusted friend at work about it, listening to someone's problem, doing a lot of work, researching the answer to a work-related problem, more prayer and reading the scriptures online for a few minutes.

in the end all of the above must have worked because the feeling diminished, it's not quite as present now as it was earlier today.  as always i am amazed at how quickly peace comes when i turn to the lord.  he calmed my troubled mind today so that i could focus on the tasks at hand.  and that dear friends is a beautiful and wondrous thing.

while today wasn't a big storm in the scheme of things, i can certainly relate to this thought:

All of us have seen some sudden storms in our lives. A few of them, though temporary like [those] on the Sea of Galilee, can be violent and frightening and potentially destructive. ...we have had sudden squalls arise which have made us ask one way or another, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” And one way or another we always hear in the stillness after the storm, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”


None of us would like to think we have no faith, but I suppose the Lord’s gentle rebuke here is largely deserved. This great Jehovah, in whom we say we trust and whose name we have taken upon us, is he who said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Gen. 1:6.) And he is also the one who said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.” (Gen. 1:9.) Furthermore, it was he who parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry ground. (See Ex. 14:21–22.) Certainly it should be no surprise that he could command a few elements acting up on the Sea of Galilee. And our faith should remind us that he can calm the troubled waters of our lives.  -Howard W. Hunter, “‘Master, the Tempest Is Raging’,” Ensign, Nov 1984