"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."

It was a big story on the news the last two days: A 16 year old girl, captain of her own yacht, sailing solo across the world, lost at sea...

(This is an actual picture of her. Her name is Abby Sunderland.)

I can't imagine! First of all, I can't imagine being the captain of my own ship and then heading out all on my own to sail around the world. I think of when I was 16, and there is NO way I would have been capable of such a task. I mean come on now, the first day I had my license I almost plowed down our garbage cans as I backed out of the driveway. And then a few short years later, I took that very same garbage can and embedded it into the garage door. Ooops! All I have to say is that those puppies must be made out of RubberMaid, because once I backed the car out of the crater I just made it popped right back out like nothing had ever happened! Oh how I wish I could have said the same for the poor garage door...(let's just say it didn't pop back out and the only way you couldn't tell anything had happened was after we had the new one installed.)

Anyway, back to my thoughts and my point...

Here is this young girl alone at sea. She was being tossed violently among the waves, some of which they say were up to 25 feet tall. The water and waves were so bad, it took her VERY far off course, and damaged the mast of the ship which took away her ability to communicate. And so for 20 hours she was all alone out there. I'm sure she wondered if she was going to make it...If anyone would be able to find and rescue her...Maybe she even doubted if the yacht's ability to withstand the storm and stay afloat. Who knows what exactly went through her mind. All I know is that if it had been me, I would have been scared to death and I doubt I would've been able to remain calm with a clear head. Thankfully the story ends well...a search plane from Australia spotted her, and a ship will be there to rescue her within 24 hours.

But then I began to think, this is often how life feels to us. We are out on the sea of life. And there are times when a storm begins to rage. The waves begin to violently thrash. We are tossed about, and in the process get pretty banged up. Our lives get turned upside down and we wonder where we go from there. We feel lost and alone.

We pray. We plead for help. We plead for comfort. At times there is a lengthy silence...we aren't immediately answered or rescued from our situation. We wonder if we are being heard. Then a glorious sight appears, whether in the form of a best friend or a neighbor or maybe even a stranger. But they come to us in our hour of need, and we are made very aware that we are not alone. All of the prayers and pleas we offered up, were heard. And they were answered. That friend or neighbor or stranger is sent to us, and they bring us something that we momentarily lost and yearned for...hope and comfort. What a glorious gift!

Yes, we might be out on the sea of life. And yes, the waves and storms will rage. One thing is for certain...we are never, I repeat never alone. He hears every prayer. He will answer us. He will send help. He has promised us this, and His promises are sure. Let us remember the words of Spencer W Kimball:

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other."

Let's commit to being more aware. More aware of one each other and the struggles that they face. Let Him use you as an instrument in His hands. There is great need all around you. Be willing. Be ready. You very well could be the answer to someone's prayers...