Lori Boyd - Hope Island: Rescue is Coming

2020 by Lori Belihar Boyd

First Printing 2018

Second Printing 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN-13: 978-1-7326661-8-4

ISBN-13: 978-1-9529552-1-1 (e-book)

Published by Kaio Publications

http://www.kaiopublications.org

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from are from the New King James Version.

Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover Design: Josh Feit, Evangela.com

TO SAM, EVIE, KATE, AND BRIGGS

I love being with you,

learning with you,

laughing with you,

and hoping with you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AS WITH EVERY WRITING PROJECT, there are many hands that touched and shaped the process from beginning to end. Id like to take a moment to recognize a few special people who helped me develop this study.

The idea for Hope Island took root at a ladies retreat I attended in East Tennessee, hosted by the Chickamauga church of Christ. Our subject for the weekend was Anchored by Hope. For one small group activity, the ladiespretending to be shipwreck survivorstook poster boards and created communities based on HOPE: the confident expectation that they would be rescued. When the poster boards were lined up on the wall at the front of the room, something extraordinary was revealed. I remember talking through each island community and then turning to the group and saying, This!(motioning to the line of posters)This is what the church should look like!

On my drive home, as I reflected on that activity, I knew I had to write about it. So, thank you to my sisters who attended that retreat, for your kindness and for your inspiration. I arrived that weekend not knowing a single soul and left two days later with hugs and tears and feeling like I was leaving familyjust the way it should be in the church.

I thank my precious family: my husband, Sam, and my children, Evie, Kate, and Briggs. They are patient, gracious, and kind. I couldnt be a writer without having their help and encouragement. They give me endless ideas and infinite inspiration. I love them with my whole heart.

I thank Michael Whitworth and Kristy Hinson, for their work in publishing the first edition of this book. I love them both for their support, their guidance, and their wisdom. I am especially grateful for their examples of faith and for their friendship.

I also thank Joe Wells with Kaio Publications, for allowing me the opportunity to make Hope Island available for people to read and study. I appreciate his work in producing and distributing this book, but even more for his optimistic spirit and kind heart.

Above all, I thank God for His grace, mercy, and love. I thank Him for establishing His kingdom, for giving us His Word, and for the hope of His Sons return. I humbly pray that He guide my steps according to His Will, and that I live my life to His honor and glory.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHERE IT BEGINS

THE TALE OF A FATEFUL TRIP

THE STORM

There had been no sign of rain. The sky had been completely unfurnished. It had been smooth sailing, if you will. Until now.

The hull of the boat crashed through angry waves and water began to fill the upper and lower decks. Darkness had torn through the heavenly veil and brought with it black clouds bursting with rain. Lightning ripped across the sky. Thunder shook the ocean. The wind raged and billows rose higher and higher.

The black radio in the captains cabin had been the ships connection to the shore. Since the sudden turn of the weather, several desperate messages had been sent notifying the coast guard of their situation. So far there had been no response. Did the messages even go through? Was anyone aware of what was happening to the crew of the S.S. Sarx? It appeared that they were on their own. Sink or swim? Live or die? Which would it be?

The forty passengers, who thirty minutes ago had been enjoying a beautiful day at sea, were now fighting to survive a storm. It had been two days since their feet had last touched solid ground, and two days since their eyes had last seen it. The fear that filled every head was the possibility that they would never touch land or see it again. The boat was breaking apart right beneath them. Staying on course was hopeless, but nobody cared. Staying alive was now the mission.

Lifeboats were dropped, and life vests were secured. Desperate hands grabbed survival supplies. Piece by piece the boat began to sink below the surface and one by one, men, women, and children were pulled from the water onto the inflatable rafts.

Side by side the passengers sat, faces down, backs bent over, and arms intertwined. The storm muted the coughing, sobbing, and loud prayers pleading for mercy. Only the captain sat still and tall. Only he knew something the rest of the crew did not. Only he had heard the three broken, static-woven words that tripped through the radio just as water flooded his cabin: Rescue is coming.

He would tell the others as soon as they were safe. And he believed with all of his heart that they would be.

THE SURVIVORS

Everyone come! Come over here! the captain called out.

As he looked across the shore, he could see all four lifeboats and he quickly began to register each survivor. Some people were still in the boats, some were lying in the sand, and others were wandering aimlessly around the beach.

Let me get a headcount! he yelled.

Slowly, they began to circle around him.

Onetwothreefour he counted

twenty-fivetwenty-sixtwenty-seven

thiry-eightthirty-nineand I make forty.

Forty survivors. Three days drifting since the storm and every single passenger had survived.

The captain asked each person to take the hands of those standing next to them and he led them all in a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Many dropped to their knees and lowered their heads to the sand. Tears fell down each face. At the close of the prayer, one small voice, weighted with fear and with exhaustion, asked the question that filled every heart What do we do now?

We live, the captain answered, until we are rescued.

But how do you know we will be rescued? someone called out from the circle.

There was a message, he explained. It came through on the radio just before the ship went down. The message was that rescue is coming. They know what happened to us and they will come for us. In the meantime, we will continue to survive. We will live here, knowing that it wont be home for very long. We will build a community together and it will thrive on hope.

With those words, the survivors got to work.

THE ISLAND

If you looked back at the island from the edge of the water, it looked empty. Yes, there were trees, hills, rocks, and sand; but there was no sign of human life. The forty survivors seemed to be alone. How would they survive?