This has been a momentous week for our youngest daughter Phoebe. 

She is 11 years old and started High School. It is a big change for all children but for those children who have additional needs – Phoebe has Down Syndrome –  there are all sorts of concerns you have as a parent. For many families of children with additional needs, the transition from one school to another is a very difficult process and it can feel that you are facing an insurmountable battle against bureaucracy with limited help. We have been blessed by how smooth a transition it has been.

Thankfully, Phoebe has been blissfully unaware of how big a change is. She’s told people all  summer that she ‘couldn’t wait’ and was very excited about her new uniform, particularly the tie. Her parents however, have slightly dreaded the day. Wonderfully, Phoebe got into the taxi, waved us off joyfully, heading off to school without any concerns. She returned in the afternoon proclaiming she’d had a ‘great day’. I found myself throughout the day nervous and wondering how she was getting on. So far, so good, and we are now a few days in and she’s really settled in.

I’m acutely aware that for others of our friends who have children with additional needs, it has been much, much harder. Getting children to school, keeping them in school, behavioural challenges and many disappointments have been their experience. That feeling of nagging anxiety of ‘what if this option doesn’t work?’ There is, I think, for all parents of children with additional needs, the cloud over the future ahead. What will the next challenge look like for our child, and the one after? What’s coming next?   

For the past 17 years, we have tried each morning to read Catherine Vos’ Child’s Story Bible as a family. This new term marked a change. With Phoebe having to leave earlier, we can’t all cram on to the bed, with limbs digging into each other, kids in a headlock, complaints of tiredness and then attempt to read and pray. Instead, it has become a more civilised sitting at the kitchen table, the older two complaining about having to be up early.

In God’s remarkable kindness, on Phoebe’s first day, we looked at Peter walking on the water, drawing from Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 8. Let me quote to you from the moment where the disciples in the boat see Jesus walking on the water and think he is a ghost. They cry out with fear, and this is written next: 

‘Of course, there are no ghosts. But even the bravest person would be startled to see a figure in the darkness walking on the water. Jesus did not want his disciples to be frightened. He called out to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I! Do not be afraid!” Peter was filled with the thought of the wonderful power of Jesus . He felt that Jesus ruled all the world, and that he could do all things. He could even make a poor, weak man like Peter able to walk on the water.

So Peter called to Jesus, “Lord if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water!”

Jesus said to Peter, “Come!”

Peter got out of the boat. For a few minutes his heart was so filled with the thought of Jesus’ almighty power that he, too, was able to walk on top of the waves. But soon Peter looked around at the howling storm, and as his trust in Jesus weakened, he began to fear the storm. When Peter stopped trusting Jesus, he began to sink. In a panic he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of Peter, saying, “Oh, you of little faith, Did you not know that I could keep you from sinking?” With Jesus holding his hand Peter was not afraid. He thought only of Jesus by his side; he did not notice the waves. So the two of them walked on the water till they reached the boat.’

It was in the remarkable kindness of God that we read this passage on this particular morning.

‘But soon Peter looked around at the howling storm, and as his trust in Jesus weakened, he began to fear the storm. When Peter stopped trusting Jesus he began to sink. Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of Peter. 

“Did you not know that I could keep you from sinking?”

‘With Jesus holding his hand Peter was not afraid.’

They are such simple words, so profound, so beautiful and just what we needed that morning. The power of the bible story is such a source of encouragement and strength. 

The truth is though, that if Phoebe had had a disastrous first day in her new school and hated it, that wouldn’t have changed the reality of this bible story.

Jesus comes to his disciples in the midst of a storm and his presence is gloriously reassuring. He doesn’t stop the storm in this instance, he could, but he doesn’t. He demonstrates his mastery over the creation and them. Peter has his heart stretched and his eyes widened as he recognises who Jesus is. He finds himself stepping out in faith in reliance on Jesus, and as long as he keeps his eyes on the Lord, he is safe. The temptation to look at his circumstances is so strong that his trust in Jesus’ power weakens and he begins to fear and then sink. In Jesus’ kindness and grace he upholds Peter, and us, and keeps us from sinking.

Of course, these truths are for all of us whether we are single, married, have children or do not. It is true in every circumstance – keep your eyes looking to the Lord Jesus, in the calm or the storm. It’s the message for Phoebe and for us and all our children: ‘If you stop trusting Jesus you will begin to sink’. 

So look to him, trust him, rely on him in all things.

The Child’s Story Bible – Catherine Vos is published by the Banner of Truth