I asked him whether they did much talking during that terrible storm and he
said, "No, I was praying all the time that we might reach land safely,
because the young man with us was not saved and he was the sole support of
his widowed mother, his father and one or two brothers having gone down
somewhere in the North Sea not so long ago. We were getting along very
well--for the Lord helped me steer the boat right--but the worst that we
had to meet was just before we landed--there were three sandbars we had to
cross. If the waves struck us just right we would get over, but if not, we
would get stuck in the sandbars, and there would be no help for us. When we
came to the first one a big wave carried us safely over the sandbar. I said
'Thank God, we are over the first one;' and so it was with the other two;
and each time I said, 'Thank God for taking us over, and too, for not
letting the water get into our boat.'"
A week later I embarked on the steamer Olaf Barger, sailing from
Fredriksen, Denmark, to Sweden. As I was going on board the boat the
Captain came to me and asked whether I could spare him a few minutes before
we landed in Sweden, as he wished to have a talk with me. When we got so
far that we could begin to see the rocky coast of Sweden he came to me and
began his narrative. He said, pointing ahead, "You see that three-mast
schooner standing upon that rock?" I said, "Yes, I see it." "You remember
the awful storm we had a week ago today. We were just coming out from
Gottenburg to return to Denmark--an hour's sailing--and the schooner called
for help but we were unable to even help ourselves so that we could not
possibly help them. They were blown upon the rocks, but the people were
saved." Then he pointed to the left to two big rocks, and continued, "And
right there was a small steamer in trouble. They, too, called for help but
we could not give it and they went down.
"We now saw that it would be impossible for us to reach Denmark and were
fortunate in managing to turn the ship's course back toward Gottenburg. I
tied myself to the bridge with an inch rope. Down into the waves we went
and I said to myself, 'We have seen the sun for the last time.' But we came
up and went down again many, many times. Then I did something I had never
in all my life done before--I am sixty-five years old--I prayed the Lord to
save my ship and all that were sailing with me. Along in the afternoon I
found myself calling on God for salvation of my soul, and the Lord did save
me and finally brought my ship, and those sailing with me, safely into the
harbor at nine o'clock that evening, it having taken us nine hours to do
one hour's sailing.
"Knowing that you were a minister of the gospel I wanted to tell you the
story that you might perhaps tell it to others."
How longsuffering and merciful is the Son of God toward the children of men
that when they repent and turn to Him, HE FORGIVES THEM.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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