Smile at the storm

For me one of the most crazy experiences on my recent India trip was being driven around on Indian roads. I expected them to be bumpy and non existent in places. What I wasn't ready for was the crazy driving on them.

It seemed to me that mild mannered quiet nice guys turned into demons when the got behind the wheel. It seemed to be a competition for the duration of the journey to not let anything pass and to pass by any means possible anything that was in front.

Add to that all the other hazards outside the drivers control on roads that had NO rules I have to say that travelling around India was not a pleasant experience.

My best tactic was to close my eyes and pretend I was sleeping so I wouldn't have to watch the mayhem ensue and remain in a state of tension for hours on end.

One day on a 3 hour drive to the airport with a driver that resembled a "bat out of hell" (His driving style only!) the guy in the front seat stuck on a CD. Out of the speaker came this soothing symphony of music. Totally opposite to the mayhem taking place outside the car.

Sitting in the back seat God brought a smile to my face by dropping into my mind an old Sunday school chorus that had the line in it:

"With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm, smile at storm, smile at the storm, as we go sailing home."

Whatever storm is going on around, no matter the chaos, no matter the danger, if we truly have Christ, and our trust is in him, we can still have a calmness and a deep Joy because of Him.