I received the following story by email some time ago. I don’t keep many of these but this particular story caused me to stop and consider. After reading the story it occured to me that perhaps this is the reason Jesus was able to sleep in the boat during the storm while the disciples all paniced. (See Matthew 8:23-27 for that story) He was prepared. Here is the story:

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He
constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to
work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that
raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a
steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the
farmer. “Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him.

“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired
him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to
dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out
of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired
hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up!
A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told
you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the
spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.

To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been
covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were
in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly
secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired
hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.