1000 word excerpt:

When Jesus saw the multitude waiting for for Him, his only comment to the disappointed disciples was very simple.

"They are like sheep without a shepherd. We must help them while we can." He proceeded to greet the crowd and cheer their hearts with words of counsel and encouragement.

"I don't see how He can be so good to them when they have taken away our only chance to be alone with Him. We need encouragement, too.
And He needs to rest." The words of Peter seemed to echo everyone's feelings. When He started praying for the sick, they unwillingly went to help the people come up one by one. The minutes slipped into hours and the sun was far down the western sky, when Jesus called a halt.

'We are too far from the city and there are no villages that are close by. You must feed the people before they return so they won't be fainting on the way home.

"WE should feed them?" cried Phillip. "Where would we get enough food for five thousand men and their families? Even if there were a place nearby to buy food, it would take hundreds of coins to even buy enough to give each one a bite!"

"How much food do we have?" asked the Lord. Joel and Benjamin had just been getting ready to start eating their lunch when they heard what He was saying. Joel pulled on Andrew's sleeve. He took the basket of food and gave it to the Lord. The smile Jesus gave Joel would shine in the lad's heart forever.

What happened next was so unbelievable they often recalled it and tried to figure out exactly what happened. One moment the disciples were being sent to seat the people in groups. The next moment, the Lord was finishing a simple prayer for the food and starting to pass it out. John and James had brought some baskets from the boat and each disciple in line received all the bread and fish his basket would hold and went to give it out. The bread and fish in the tiny basket multiplied so quickly that they had to hurry to put one of the baskets under it to keep the food from falling on the grass.

Joel and Benjamin sat down on the grassy slope to eat their share of the delectable bread and fish.

"I wonder if the manna tasted this good?"

"Prob'ly." said Benjamin, with his mouth full. "But they didn' ge' any fish with theirs!"

The Master told the disciples to return to Capernaum in the boat and to take the boys with them. It was completely dark when the disciples and the boys took off in the boat The wind was getting stronger by the minute, and it was contrary to the direction they were going. They tied down the sails and started rowing, but it was very difficult work. Benjamin and Joel cowered in one end of the boat, trying not to cry. All Benjamin could think of was the shipwreck on the Mediterranean sea, when he had been separated from his mother. The icy water washed over them as the waves rose higher.

Suddenly, Joel saw a white figure coming toward them over the water."

"A ghost!" he shouted, beside himself with fear. They all saw the apparition. It seemed to walk on top of the water. Not only the boys were terrified. Everyone was absolutely overcome with fear. As the figure approached the boat, they heard a voice.

"Don't be afraid. It's me." Peter leaned far over the side of the boat to see better. It really was the Master, walking on the water, as though it had been land. A sudden thought occurred to him.

"Lord!" he cried out. "If it's really you, call me to walk to you on the water!"

"Come on!" With his heart in his mouth, Peter put first one leg and than the other over the side of the boat, and found that he really could walk on the water. With uncertain steps, he walked toward the Master. He had gone more than half the distance, when the wind began to blow harder. The waves rose up around him, sending spray into his face. He tried to keep his eyes on the Master, but the waves were like a magnet. Try as he would, he could not keep his eyes off the waves. Suddenly, he realized that the water had come up to his knees.

"Master!!" he cried, in despair. " Save me before I perish!"

Benjamin lost sight of him among the waves.
He and Joel clung to one another, terrified that their beloved friend might drown.

"What if he dies?" sobbed Benjamin, "What will we do?"

"Look!" cried Andrew. "He's safe! My brother is safe!" There was not a dry eye on the boat as they saw Peter and the Master, hand in hand, walking the distance back to the boat.

"Why were you afraid?" He asked them, after they had been helped back into the boat. "Have faith in Me. I will never leave you." The disciples crowded around Him, weeping and worshipping Him. It was as though they had never before realized who He really was. The boys climbed onto His knees and hid their faces in the folds of His robe. Benjamin had never felt so safe since he had sat on his father's knees when he was a tiny boy. With the Lord's strong arms around them, the boys rejoiced in the love that seemed to flow out of His being. It was a moment that would serve them as an anchor for the rest of their lives, when they were in need.