An Island's Revenge

Here’s a part of a story yet to be fully told.  A brief bit of memories from long, long ago before there were engines and all we had was the wind in our sails, the strength of our muscle, the music in our hearts and the faith of our Creator….

An Island’s Revenge:

We were once sailors of the sea, forever new horizons we longed to see

Our Master Commander we hailed, thru storms of fire we sailed, to find calm seas.

Long ago we used the stars as our map and the wind was our engine

Distant lands and the beauty they held was all for us to imagine.

I was the navigator, the lives of the crew was dependent on my view of the stars

The position of the bright morning star and my instincts brought us from afar.

Many times we drifted on windless seas, other times we held on for our lives

As the storms beat our ship like a swarm of hornets attacking the queen of a hive.

Old charts on leather parchment helped to navigate the seas

But in those days it was really a mystery what over the horizon there was to see.

Our hearts were filled with the glory of days gone by

Our minds often drifted as we looked up at a cloudless sky.

The stores of the cabins below held our treasure

We often had to take stock in the food & water to measure.

Over the years many times our reserves ran very low

But we held strong, our faith always in tow.

The Captain would keep us focused as we did our seamen’s chores

In me he trusted to bring us to a new shore where we could fill our stores.

But there was always a challenge to our destiny

For our enemy, the soulless pirates, were often many.
Our torches were always primed and our aim was second to none

But it was one encounter I remember most that with the help of God we won.

It was a calm early dawn and we sailed to a distant island we had been before

Little did we know that pirates had taken it… like a haggard whore.

The women they raped and the men they killed

The food and treasures they plundered, our friends in battle were less skilled.

The island was home to an ancient creed of fishermen and net makers

Morning broke on a sailor’s day, both Moon and Sun in the sky shone, as markers.

In the distance we could see the fires, we knew something was wrong

The smell of death drifted to our nose and we couldn’t hear their island song.

The moon shone brightly, it glistened intently, the sun gave warmth, our enemies waited impatiently

The crew was busy preparing for battle, everywhere men readied their post hastily.

Their ship was on the other side of the island; we waited until nightfall, and sharpened our knives

The rage of revenge was on our minds, to lay waste to the enemy that had taken innocent lives.

To God we prayed to give us victory over our heathen adversary

Little did we know that God had already made His plans as if written in a long ago story.

Their ranks were lined on the shore as they waited for our boats to land

And then out of nowhere a massive wave came upon them like God’s hand.

They never heard & never saw the wrath of God come upon them

Not knowing where it came from, until it was too late, the sea devoured them, drowning in their own sins.

As we landed in the aftermath we found few of the island survivors

We stayed and helped those we could; to them we were a savior.

To this day I tell this story, how our prayers were answered without a fight

In His Glory we continue to sail, with the true Savior, His Grace always within our sight.

Bryan A. Stross 1/14/2019 10:44 AM EST

Pics, Edits, Reference 5/31/2023. 5:06 AM EST

Ours is not to fight & win, but rather to have faith & defend, knowing victorious angels He’ll send. 🙏

I pray the rest of 2023 brings you smooth seas, as God calms a restless sky & soothes an angry forest. 🐝

The Breath of Life is your soul.  Nourish it & realize that although your physical body is mortal, your soul is immortal.  This is the inner self you must find in your life, for only then can you breathe the life He has promised to his Faithful. ✨✝️🕊

1st Peter 1:9