What About You? Have You Ever Been In A Storm?
How does your child react to storms in their life? Jesus Calms the Storm and Me presents the opportunity for great family discussions on how we react to difficulties, challenges, and fears. Lead your child to realize the powerful help they have available simply by calling on Jesus and trusting Him. What a wonderful story to share with your family! A story that shows the great power of Jesus and the great love he has for all people. The discussion questions on each page will add to the story, but please enjoy the story as it is first. Read it many times with your family, let them ask the questions they have, let them tell you what they notice about this story. Then, when the story is already familiar, begin using the questions in the book to deepen your discussions. My hope is that your family will have wonderful talks about your faith through good times and bad. We will all face storms in our lives – different storms – and we have different reactions to those storms. But there is one thing we all have in common, we want our children to learn at a young age that no matter how weak or strong the storm, they can always go to Jesus and trust in Him to bring a calmness to their storms.
Life Lessons from Jesus Calms the Storm and Me
Jesus is real.
The beginning of this story shows the humanness of Jesus. He chose disciples to come along with him and help him, to watch him and learn his ways. He walked places, he ate good food, he talked to people and helped them. Jesus got tired and needed some time alone, and he took naps! What?? Jesus took naps??? I love the illustration of Jesus napping in the boat because that is not how we typically picture the Lord, curled up in the back of the boat all snuggled down and comfy. It is so important that our children see Jesus as a real person. He is not a made-up character like Superman, Spiderman, or Wonder Woman and our kids need to realize that. This story gives you a great opportunity to remind your kids of that fact. Jesus is a hero, the best hero, but he is also very real.
Jesus is powerful.
He stopped the storm! Need I say more? However, as adults we also know that every time we cry out to Jesus to ease our suffering, our storm, we do not always get immediate relief like the disciples did here. Do we lose faith? Do we see the possibility that Jesus is using his power to get us through the storm and out the other side rather than simply making it go away? This story provides opportunities for you to talk to your children about past storms in your life and the effect they had on you as a person. Were you strengthened by the storm? Were you better prepared for your future because of the storm? Were you able to help others because of the storm? Storms can make us feel afraid, discouraged, and anxious. Jesus can give us the strength to feel secure, fearless, and faithful within the storm not just after it is over. So yes, Jesus has the power to stop the storm, but he also has the power to see the other side of the storm and the possibilities that has for our children.
Jesus wants to hear from us
Jesus was peacefully sleeping in a boat that was rocking and rolling due to the rough seas, most likely getting pelted with rain, and hearing the roar of the storm. Hmmm… could we sleep that peacefully? Jesus also knew that the storm was not going to overpower the boat. But the disciples did not know that. Their first reaction was to try their best to deal with the storm on their own, without waking Jesus. As their fear grew, they realized they needed help from the one person in the boat who they had seen do miracles. They woke Jesus and asked for help. Jesus helped. But not till they asked him to. Are your children trying to deal with struggles, difficult people, hard issues… storms… without going to the one who can give them the help they need? As they face storms head on, do they know that Jesus is there with them as they work their way to the calm side of the lake? Use this great story to help your children learn to talk to Jesus and not only during the storms in their lives, but each day.
Jesus is for us
God is for us, God is for our children, and their children and their children for a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). Jesus came to earth to teach, to heal, to share the love of God, and to sacrifice for each and every one of us. There is no greater proof that Jesus is for us! In all honesty, Jesus did not come to earth simply to calm our storms. He came to save our souls. Lead your child to rest in that knowledge, to find peace in that knowledge, to find joy in that knowledge, and to lead a life of faith in that knowledge. Your child’s life will not be free of troubles, help them build a relationship with Jesus so they will be prepared to call on him when storms come.