Our finest hours

One of the US Coast Guard’s most daring rescues took place in 1952 during a massive nor’easter off Massachusetts’s Cape Cod, as dramatized in the recent Disney film The Finest Hours, based on the book of the same name. Fifty-foot waves from the powerful winter storm broke an oil tanker in half. A young crew of four from Chatham Lifeboat Station raced out to search for any stranded survivors. In a TV segment in which coauthor Michael Tougias was interviewed, it was reported that the captain of the lifeboat, Bernie Webber, told Tougias that a higher power aided them. Webber deeply turned to God that night. “As the lifeboat pitched along a canyon of waves, Webber and his crew spontaneously began to sing.… Their four voices formed a harmony that rose over the howling winds. Webber could think of no more poignant hymn to fit the situation they found themselves in.

Even with his boat’s compass knocked out by the force of a powerful wave, Webber located the broken tanker, rescuing 32 of the 33 men marooned on the stern section just before it sank. On the way back, Webber wound up turning off the radio that was receiving advice, and he followed his intuition to get back to shore. “In his heart, he knew that God was bringing them home” (The Finest Hours, p. 95).

This remarkable story at sea made me ponder biblical accounts of God’s preservation of those in peril. A great storm at sea was calmed by Christ Jesus rebuking the wind, and saying to the waves, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). In the midst of a tempestuous wind at sea, Paul strongly urged his 275 fellow passengers, “Be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.” Later the account continues, “And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land” (Acts 27:22, 44). 

These profound accounts fulfill the prayer to God, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). And in the story of Noah’s ark, Noah witnessed God’s help; then he beheld a rainbow and heard God’s message, “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature” (Genesis 9:16). What a timeless promise!

With God round about us, all are truly safe in His love, and a raging wind has no real power.

We can turn to God to direct and protect, as we travel about in the safety of our “ark,” a conscious recognition of God’s goodness. This security is beautifully conveyed in Psalms 91:1: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The psalm goes on to eliminate fears by reassuring those who trust God and declaring what He does for them: delivers, covers, protects, provides a refuge. In truth, as God’s children, we dwell in Him, where we are always safe. Recognizing wholeheartedly that we actually live in God’s kingdom, which includes only good, and are inseparable from God, we avail ourselves of His protection.

Over the years, I’ve been humbly grateful for God’s protection and direction in small ways, as well as during unusual and challenging events. Some of these include finding safe refuge in a foreign country when I was without money, unexpectedly being required to deliver a woman’s baby, and rescuing a toddler from a rogue wave. 

More recently, I was photographing Nantucket Sound off of Massachusetts while sailing with my husband and two friends on a windy afternoon. Suddenly, the magnificent view darkened as a stronger wind unexpectedly picked up, splashing water into the boat. We sailed back to the harbor, where we started the motor and rolled up one sail. As we motored toward our mooring, however, the motor stopped and couldn’t be restarted. Our captain attempted to anchor, but as he struggled against the powerful winds and waves, he was yanked by a line into the water. He had a life vest on, and we could still see him, but we were without a captain at the moment and unable to control our course with only one sail up, darting past large moored boats like a car without brakes in a parking lot.

Immediately I began to pray. This step was natural, for every day I affirm my love for God and man in prayer. Then, if challenging situations occur, the courage to do the right thing for all is made easier by understanding our unity with God. I refused to be alarmed or fearful while quietly knowing that the ever-presence of God, divine Love, sends no dangerous circumstance to harm His creation. Like Bernie Webber, my thought turned to a loved hymn: 

With God round about us, all are truly safe in His love, and a raging wind has no real power. No fear of a collision entered my thinking, as I recalled a familiar statement, “Accidents are unknown to God …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 424). Knowing that God was at the helm, I continued listening for guidance.

Then, we each calmly responded to the emergency in different ways. I called the harbormaster on my cell phone. My friend grabbed an oar to deflect collisions. And my husband, praying as well, held to the thought that God, the divine Mind, gave him the intelligence to handle the boat in harmony with the many nearby moored boats. The harbormaster picked up our captain and then carefully maneuvered alongside our sailboat and towed us safely to a dock. We all rejoiced. Fear did not control the day. It was an hour to witness our unity with God, good, and a stressful situation was defused. It’s encouraging to know that “divine Love is our hope, strength, and shield” (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 113).

Every hour we can strive to see ourselves and our fellow man as dwelling “in the secret place of the most High” while traveling in our “ark.” Even an SOS distress signal can be answered by turning to a higher source, the supremacy of Spirit. Earnest reliance on God’s loving care under all circumstances on land, sea, or air can be our finest hours, as we learn and demonstrate that God’s spiritual government truly does fill every moment.