Up & Coming Weekly

September 15, 2020

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2020 UCW 17 DAN DEBRULER, General Manager, WCLN. Comments? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. FREE HEALTH CARE • for uninsured Adults call 910.485.0555 presents Fayetteville's "Best" Band 3 years in a row Book your upcoming events! Rivermist Band 910-797-7140 www.rivermistband.com www.facebook.com/rivermistband Search "Rivermist Band" on Instagram and "Ain't No Party Like A #rivermistparty" Peace in a storm by DAN DEBRULER OPINION The little canoe my wife and I like to paddle across Hope Mills Lake is far from what I'd call a boat, a ship or anything else. I'm not a sailor. But in addition to the myriad shows I've watched, I have listened closely to the stories of those who set sail in larger craft on deeper waters. Here's one t hing I learned: On t he surface, t he w inds can sweep across t he sea at stunning speeds, bring ing w it h t hem blo- w ing rain, light ning, t hunder and an ominous dark ness. Waves can g row to 20 or 30 feet high. During a storm like t his, a ship can be tossed around like a toy boat. It's not uncommon for an oceangoing craf t to be lost in such storms. But underneath the surface, just 100 feet down, there's no storm. All is perfectly still. No sound. No tumult. Not even a ripple. Let me take an intentional side journey and apply those verifi- able facts to the people like you and me, caught in the tumultuous events that occurred (and are still occurring) in our cit y, nation and world. If you observe closely, there is a clear view of those who react much like the surface of the water in an ocean storm. They're tos- sed around, at once gathered and scattered, dissipating their own strength as the wind of another change blows them where it will. Then there are those who seem largely unaffected. Same sea, same storm, just more calm. The difference for those people is ver y much the same as the ocean — there's more depth. My family has endured some ridiculously weight y circumstan- ces in our short time on earth. Probably not unlike you, I expect. Maybe different storms, but we've all been tossed around in one way or another during our lives. I've been surprised by the peace I had as we walked through some of the worst storms imaginable. So let me share what I know about peace — it's tied to somet- hing Jesus said as recorded in John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." Author and apologist Ravi Zacharias tells of an Indian pro- verb that says, "whatever you are overf lowing with will spill out when you're bumped. It has in mind, a village woman carr ying a port or an urn of milk or water or something on her head. And it's right to the brim. And suddenly as some careless lad runs across her path and she stops for a moment and whatever is up to the brim there, begins to spill out. "It is intended to convey what your real character is about. "W hoever you are in your cha- racter, that characteristic will spill out when somebody annoys you or cuts into your path." When the world rages on, the depths of our character can bring bring peace of mind and heart.

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