—Gospel of Matthew 8 : 24

A farmer owned land along the Atlantic Coast. He constantly advertised for hired hands, but most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the sea, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. “Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him.

“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.

Although he was puzzled by this answer, the farmer, too desperate for help, hired him on the spot.

The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters.

The little man was sound asleep. “Get up. A storm is coming” said the farmer. “Tie things down before they blow away!”

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly: “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”

Enraged by the response, the farmer threw a fit and was tempted to fire him on the spot, but instead hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins, the cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. All the shutters were tightly secured, and everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

Then the farmer understood what his hired hand meant. So, he also returned to his bed to sleep while the wind blew.

Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. Jesus slept while the winds buffeted the boat on the sea of Galilee. As followers of Him, we secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in His Word.

We just need to hold His hand to have peace of mind and sleep well amidst the storms of life.

Sleep well!

—Fr. Hugh Duffy