After The Storm

AFTER THE STORM

WRITTEN BY WARREN SAGER

The scene begins with a couple sitting in a boat and acting as though they had just been through a storm that is now calm.

HE
Are you okay?
SHE
I guess so. Wow…that was quite a storm! I was getting kind of worried.
HE
Yeah, me too. Pretty scary, wasn’t it?
SHE
You seemed so “in control”, though! You really handled the boat well, I thought!
HE
I didn’t want you to be more upset than you already were. I tried to be confident and stay calm.
SHE
Well, it worked. I never for a minute doubted your ability. You’re right, if I thought you were not in control of the situation, I would have been far more frightened.
HE
There is just only so much you can do. I put all my boating skills to work and tried hard to keep the boat afloat and just survive that thing. But it could have really done us harm. The last thing you want is a capsized boat out on the lake in the middle of a storm.
SHE
That storm came up so fast, too! It didn’t look that bad when we started out.
HE
I’m surprised there’s not more water in here. It was sure splashing in.
SHE
Let’s head back in, okay? Just in case another storm comes through, and it’s worse than the last one.
HE
Even if it wasn’t worse than that one…I don’t want to deal with it anymore. I’ve had enough boating for one day!
SHE
I’m with you there! We were really lucky this time. We could have ended up a lot worse! We could have drowned!
HE
I know. Why do you suppose we survived it?
SHE
What do you mean?
HE
You know…the reason behind it.
SHE
What…are you getting all spiritual now? Trying to make something of this?
HE
Why not? Don’t you think everything happens for a reason?
SHE
I guess I think that sometimes…but then sometimes I just think it’s part of life.
HE
Well, of course it’s part of life…but life teaches us things. God teaches us things by bringing situations into our lives that we have to deal with.
SHE
Like a storm that hits while you are on the lake boating.
HE
Exactly.
SHE
I don’t know. I think you might be making too much of this.
HE
But think about it. Like you said, we could have drowned! But we didn’t. Why do you suppose our lives were spared?
SHE
What is this? Are you having some kind of epiphany?
HE
I don’t know. What’s that?
SHE
That you think we were saved from drowning so that you could go out and do something great in the world!
HE
Like what?
SHE
I don’t know! You’re the one having the epiphany!
HE
Stop saying that! I’m not having an epiff… epiff.. whatever you said!
SHE
Well, that’s a relief! I thought the next thing out of your mouth was going to be that we should become missionaries and go to Africa!
HE
Now you are just making fun of me. I only wanted to talk about what we are learning from what just happened.
SHE
Let’s see…we learned that you can handle a boat pretty well in a storm, or at least fake it so that I think you know what you’re doing… and we learned that we should check out the weather a little more closely before we take a boat out on the lake in the first place…and…
HE
That’s not what I mean. Let’s just forget it.
SHE
What was that?
HE
What?
SHE
I heard something hit the boat? Look! There’s a box floating in the water! Get it.
HE
Get it? We don’t know what’s in there!
SHE
I know…that’s why I want you to get it, so we can find out what’s in there!
HE
It could be anything! Do we really want to know? What if it is somebody’s head or something?
SHE
Oh…you’ve been watching too much CSI! Come on…lets grab it before it floats by!
They bring a box into the boat from behind the boat…it is all waterlogged.
SHE
Maybe this will be your epiphany!
HE
Stop saying that word! I don’t think you are even using it right!
SHE
Hurry up and open it!
He opens the box and begins to pull out things. The first thing is a shoe.
HE
One shoe. A can of spam….well, at least we won’t starve. Look! A box of crayons! And a Commander Bugsmasher coloring book! Four ticket stubs from the movie theater…
SHE
What movie?
HE
Oh…these two are “Planet 9 from Outer Space.” Hey…these might be worth something!
SHE
I never heard of it!
HE
Oh…it’s only the worst movie ever made. It’s a classic.
SHE
Way before my time. And the other two?
HE
Eeek. The Poseidon Adventure.
SHE
Very funny. (He shows her) What else is in there?
HE
This.
SHE
What’s that?
HE
It’s an 8-track. Don’t tell me you don’t know what that is!
SHE
Who’s the artist?
HE
Englebert Humperdink sings gospel! Hey…speaking of gospel, look at this. A Bible.
SHE
Wow! Your kidding! Look, it has a bookmark in it. Open it up.
HE
There is a passage highlighted. It’s Mark 4:35.
SHE
Well, what are you waiting for? Read it!
HE
(He reads)
On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.
Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
SHE
Now that’s a little freaky! We survive a storm and we find a box floating in the water with a Bible that is marked with the passage of Jesus calming the storm!
HE
Yeah. Pretty weird.
SHE
Okay, so maybe God is trying to tell us something. Maybe He saved us for a reason. I’m not saying it’s time to become missionaries, but it is something to think about.
HE
So, now you are going to consider what I said.
SHE
Well, when you think about the fact that we could have drowned. God didn’t want us to drown. He might have something special planned for us.
HE
Maybe He just wanted us to acknowledge that He is our protector. We need to give Him the credit for saving us and not my boating skills.
SHE
Or just saying that we were lucky. But think about what Jesus said in that passage…He rebuked them for their lack of faith. Maybe we don’t have very much faith. I was actually getting scared out there when the wind kicked up. I was just like the disciples.
HE
Not exactly. They had Jesus asleep in the boat. I think it would be a lot easier to have faith if Jesus was in the boat with me.
SHE
Isn’t He?

THE END

Copyright 2006 Warren Sager