Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 14:22:36. It's the famous story of Jesus walking on the water during a storm and calling Peter out of the boat to walk with him. While I want to be harsh with Peter and say to him, "Duh, it's Jesus, why are you sinking?" I have the benefit of knowing how the Gospels end - Jesus wins. Sure, Peter was friends with Jesus, but all the pieces didn't fall into place until after the Resurrection.
As I read the Gospel this morning the usual thoughts ran through my head: would I get out of a boat if Jesus called me?; when will Peter figure out that Jesus is legit?; what exactly freightened Peter?. But then I thought of something I said to a couple of friends last night. They read yesterday's blog and we had a laugh over how crazy being a parent can be. I said, "When we got home from the hospital with our son I couldn't believe it. They just let us leave with him. What the heck did I know about being a mom?"
Suddenly, I had a new appreciation for this reading and for Peter. Being a parent, heck living life, is a lot like walking on water with Jesus. Some days I'm cocky and fantastic thinking, "Oh yeah, I've got this Mommy-thing down." Other days I am treading water and praying I don't drown.
I applied my questions for Peter to myself. I didn't realize that being a parent meant that I had to get out of the boat, but Jesus called me to it so here I am. Jesus is never going to let me drown...and when will I figure that out? There have been a myriad of things that have scared me and caused me to tread water. On the days I miss the mark on being like Jesus, then being like St. Peter isn't too bad.
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