Through the storm to still waters

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Psalms 139:7–10).

Over the years those comforting Bible verses have come to my thought so many times. They’ve brought me comfort and assurance that God would always be there, caring for and protecting me as well as my family. This was proven true a number of years ago when my husband and I found ourselves in a very rough and dangerous storm while on a boat trip to Mackinaw Island, located in Lake Huron, in our new Cabin Cruiser. 

We were attending a real estate convention there, while our children were being cared for by a dear friend. Our 10-hour trip up to the island was beautiful, with the sun shining and the water perfectly calm. After a couple of joy-filled days on the island, it was time to head home to our children. 

The weather report said that it would be cloudy with a slight chance of rain, so we felt things looked pretty good. As we proceeded along for a few hours we found that it was taking us much longer than our trip up. The wind was picking up a little, and the waves were getting bigger. Nightfall was coming soon, so we pulled into a channel with boat slips for the night, eager to start again early the next morning with better weather. I’d made sure to bring the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy with me, and I began spiritually preparing for the journey in the morning.

We realized all human help was gone, but also acknowledged God’s promise was with us.

The next morning the weather looked about the same, but we decided to try again. We were fairly new boaters, but had taken a Coast Guard class for the Great Lakes so we felt comfortable with the idea of boating in rough weather. Within an hour or two the winds increased, the waves began to grow, and objects started to fly off our boat. Despite the waves and wind, we could also hear loud crashing from objects colliding in our cabin below. I quickly secured the upper part of the boat, while my husband hung on to the steering wheel. At this point, the waves had grown so large and the wind so strong that if my husband had taken his hands off the steering wheel for a second, we would have capsized.

In the midst of weathering the storm, we found that our radio was down. We realized all human help was gone, but we also acknowledged God’s promise was with us. I knew that no matter how bad the situation got, nothing could separate my husband and me from God. This situation was an opportunity to prove the promise from Psalm 139, that no matter where I was, God would always be there to lead me.

As the waves were heading in toward shore, we had to travel out into Lake Huron, going up and down on the waves. Because the boat was being tossed around, all I could do was say “God” repeatedly to myself, calling out for Him. I knew God to be Life, my life, which could not be taken away from me. I was promised that in Psalms 139: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”

My husband was a new student of Christian Science, and I knew he was keeping his thought on knowing that his strength came from God. Not once did my husband let go of the steering wheel. We knew we couldn’t go toward shore because the shallow water and waves would have wrecked the boat and possibly thrown us overboard, so for a long time we had no idea where we were. We just had to trust God, divine wisdom, to direct us.

After a while, the weather was still bad and I could see that my husband was tiring. He turned to me and said, “Pam, we are not going to make it back.” He felt he just couldn’t hold on to the steering wheel much longer. At that point, with great clarity and conviction, I said, “We will make it back. Our children need us!” I thought of our ten-month-old baby and how she and her sisters needed us to help care for them. I kept holding on to God’s presence as He fed me with comforting angel thoughts. Mary Baker Eddy’s definition of angels found in her textbook, Science and Health, reads, “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality” (p. 581). These same angel thoughts had helped me since childhood and were supporting me in the midst of the storm.

Not long after this, we noticed the waves were getting smaller and the wind was getting less ferocious. We found ourselves entering the calm waters of Saginaw Bay. My husband was finally able to rest his arms, and, with much gratitude, we were soon at the marina docking our boat. As quickly as I could, I called my children on a nearby pay phone to tell them we were safe and on our way home to pick them up.

I am so grateful to have these precious books, the Bible and Science and Health, to study daily. They feed us with Truth. They promise us safety when we are going through stormy life experiences. So it is with much, much gratitude that I can say: “Yes, ‘if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.’”