Today’s Devotion: Friday, May 15, 2026

​The Passage: Mark 4:39
​”He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

​Today did not start out as planned. Usually, I wake up before my alarm to get a head start on the day, but that didn’t happen this morning. We didn’t get home until after 10:00 PM last night, and exhausted, I made a quick list of everything I needed to accomplish today and fell into bed.

​When I finally got up, the house was quiet—until the spoon rest on top of the stove fell behind it just as I was turning on the oven. The crash was deafening in the early morning silence.

​From there, the kitchen became a whirlwind. Soon, I had biscuits in the oven, and Odessa came down the hall asking for a “milkshake” (her word for a healthy smoothie) and the TV. Once the biscuits came out, a cake went in, and potatoes went onto the stove for potato salad. My kitchen was an absolute disaster. If something could be dropped, I dropped it.

​To add to the chaos, as Odessa was getting ready for school, she got into a mood. She didn’t want to wear the clothes her mother set out, her shoes felt funny, and she declared she wasn’t going to school at all.

​Once that storm was settled and they were out the door, I went to wake up Kevin, who helps his brother every Friday following his stroke a few months ago. When Kevin got up, I looked at him, rubbing a growing headache, and said, “The devil is messing with me big time today.”

​But instead of letting the frustration win, I stepped back. I opened the window and just listened to the birds singing. I began to talk to God, deliberately shifting my focus from the chaos of the morning to the weight of my blessings.

​Holy Spirit perspective changed everything:

​I have a beautiful family to care for, rather than being alone in an empty house.

​I am in my own kitchen, while dear friends are spending their day sitting in a stressful hospital room with an ill family member.

​The food I am cooking is to comfort a grieving family who just lost a loved one. My hardships today are just minor inconveniences compared to their heartbreak.

​While my morning started out like a fragile boat violently tossed by the waves, I realized I wasn’t alone in the boat.

Through an open window, the song of a bird, and the faces of the family I love, Jesus spoke to the wind and rain in my mind and said, “Peace, be still.” And the storm grew perfectly calm.

​As the quiet settled in, I realized something even deeper. The messy kitchen, the running late, the morning frustrations—this wasn’t the devil causing chaos in my day. It was God interrupting my plans because He had a completely different message He wanted me to share this morning. Sometimes, He allows the storm just so we can witness the beauty of His whisper.

We serve an awesome God.