Have you ever been invited to join friends for a lovely late afternoon dinner on an island? Up to this point, my response would have been no. Not many of our friends have a boat. Many have little boats that you play with while soaking in the tub, but most of them would never admit to engaging in this style of yachting.
We had some dear friends who wanted us to join them “on water” and our destination was to be Orcas Island. That island paradise is host to a beautiful restaurant and hotel. Now this was our anticipated destination.
Arrangements were made, and a time all set up to meet them at a particular “dock” location. We were thrilled to be invited and join them in this adventure. It’s important to embrace the word “adventure” because this word will be reappearing later in my story.
I’m not exactly thrilled about boats, and even less enthusiastic about water. I don’t mind the bathtub or water that doesn’t exceed three feet in depth. My husband assured me of the skill and experience of our friend. He had owned and operated many a boat in his life, and this water adventure would prove to be a delightful two and a half-hour pleasure-trip to this beautifully landscaped island. Just the scenic trip in itself would be a thrilling experience, not to mention a delightful early dinner.
As my husband was waxing eloquent about the safety features of this 26 foot Bayliner, and he assured me that the captain (our friend) of this excursion was trustworthy, competent and experienced. What could go wrong??? My mind immediately went into protective mode. All that was on my mind was are there sufficient safety jackets, how deep is the water where we would be sailing through, and how long would this “cruise” take?
The long-awaited day arrived and we happily went aboard this beautiful boat. The wife of this man gave us a grand tour that lasted about two minutes. I mean how long does it take to locate everything on a 26’ boat? My only concern was the “ladies room.” It wasn’t large, but sufficient to meet the needs of all on board.
At this point, I’m very relaxed and enjoying their company, the friendship, and the comforts of this pleasure craft. Bear in mind, we haven’t left the dock yet, but we are on the water.
If I remember correctly, our friend assured us that he had checked the gas gauge and everything was in order. Now, this detail is important to remember. He had announced that his boat had a full tank of gas!
We’ve now pulled out of the dock and into the waters. After cruising along on a lovely sunny afternoon, we noticed the island and could now see the restaurant off in the distance. I’m thinking, this is great! I can be OFF THIS BOAT in twenty minutes and on LAND.
Now this is where the story begins to unravel! Do you recognize the sounds that come from an “empty tank?” It’s like a sputter, oozing of air, and then nothing. This was our next encounter. We wondered what in the world happened. After all, he had a full tank of gas and the route he took us on wouldn’t have used half that amount.
After a few umms and awws, he announced the apparent condition of the gas tank. It was empty!
Panic attacks have not been the history of any of my physical challenges, but one was about to emerge before my very eyes. I remember my eyes enlarging like boulders and my heart beginning to race. He assured us, all would be well. I like this guy, but at that moment my faith in his ability went out the window, or more appropriately, it went “overboard.”
Let me give you an idea of our immediate location. We were in over 600 feet of deep water and there wasn’t a single boat in our area. You know how a voice travels loudly over water don’t you? Well, even a scream wouldn’t have drawn attention at this point.
Now, it’s time to call on the Lord! I grabbed the arm of his wife and we both prayed. We informed the Lord of our location (as if He didn’t know), we got detailed in the length of time we had been delayed “in this water area,” the depth of the water, and the fact that we were alone in this spot with no one to help or call out to. I could hardly get an amen out at this point.
I mentally reviewed the scripture that God will meet our every need, and WE WERE IN NEED. There was nothing we could do but “be still…..and wait.” I kept rehearsing the dialogue we had with our Lord to keep me focused. I hadn’t forgot what we were asking of Him, and my little prayer review kept me focused.
We never know when or how God is going to answer our prayers, but He always responds in the best way and for His glory. Believe me there would be no taking personal credit for any positive result in this scenario.
About 25 minutes later, the grandest thing happened. Another boat just appeared from out of nowhere it seemed. I know it didn’t drop from the sky, but it appeared and our hearts began to pump again. We yelled out for help and he responded by motoring our way. He had a great idea to extend a rope to our boat and he would tow us into the harbor. This didn’t take more than 20 minutes or so. We just rejoiced! His wife and I shared how we had talked to the Lord and asked for Him to send help. And HE DID!
We exited the boat, went to the restaurant for a very late dinner. But by the time we got back into the area where the boat was moored it was too late to obtain gas. I can’t explain that, but the facts were that it was too late to purchase gas. We would now need to spend the night “on this floating hotel.”
I am about to experience a real night on a boat. This is all new to me. I’m not even a fan of cruises, I haven’t been on one, and so you’ll know where I’m coming from. Accommodations for sleeping were great. We each went to our little bedroom facility and cuddled in for the night. Then it began…….the lapping of the small waves alongside the boat. It was like sleeping next to a Big Ben clock. You know what I mean, you hear every tick of the chimes and the movements of the clock, and then anticipate the quarter hour, half hour and hourly chimes. I couldn’t sleep as I kept anticipating the next current of waves against the boat.
Somewhere between four and five in the morning I fell asleep, only to be woken early so we could purchase some gas and fill up the tank. I was so weary that I think they could have pulled me along on a tugboat and I would have slept right through the event, noise and all.
Now there are three morals in the story. Number one, make sure your gas gauge works properly and accurately reflects the amount of gasoline it can hold, then triple check your tank to make sure it is, in fact full, and most importantly, always remember that if you belong to the Lord, He is the One to “Call on and look to” for help.
Cups of Cold Water 