Pāhonoa te oro

The story you just heard is rooted in the promise of Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you." This verse was not written for people with easy lives. It was written for people who knew what it meant to lose everything. The promise does not say the waters will not come. It says: When you are in them, I will be with you. And they will not overwhelm you.