God Is With Thee

I wrote this story as a submission to a Christian writing contest being held by Vision Forum. The prompt was simply a picture- this one

The first place winner takes home $1000- And will be announced on March 1st! Not gonna lie, I'd LOVE that prize, but even if i fail horribly, I'm legitimately proud of what i wrote, and I don't need a prize to affirm it's worth. 

I'll let everyone know how that turns out.

Now, without further ado, I present my composition, (which simply must be read in an Irish accent)

 God Is With Thee

“Now don't forget, be respectful of the other passengers. Speak only when spoken to. Your uncle Mike will meet you at the pier in New York.” This is what my mother told us the day we left our home in Cork, Ireland. “I'll be along in a few months, but for now you have to travel without me.” She then took me aside. “Johnny, you're a big boy now. You must take care of your sister. Remember your verse, 'Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'”

That all seemed so far away as I sat thinking in the drawing room on board the R.M.S. Titanic. Coming out of my reverie, I looked around for Molly, my six year old sister and personal charge. After a moment, I spotted her. She was sitting at the feet of a large American, listening intently as he talked on about something or other. I couldn't be sure what he was saying, but whatever it was, he certainly looked very proud about it. Rising, I straightened my hat and walked over to her; I felt somewhat nervous about the boastful man.

As I approached, I started to pick out what he was saying. “-the future! They say not even God can sink it! Good line, wouldn't you say?” I quickened my step. We'd been on the ship four days now and we still couldn’t go two hours without overhearing someone talk about how indestructible the ship was and about the builder's personal guarantee. I couldn’t understand how such a huge iron ship could float at all, but I didn’t question it. I decided that the adults must be right. Still, the way some of them talked about it made me uneasy.

Reaching my sister, I stood over her and talked low so as not to interrupt the man speaking. “Come on Molly, let's go, we've got to get to bed. What would Mum say if she saw us up this late?” She groaned and slapped her chubby hands onto the carpeted floor.

“But I wanna listen to the man!” she moaned, dragging the last word out to an impossible length.

“Come on, Molly!” I persisted, “He's nothing but a braggart, like in Proverbs! Now you don't want to listen to a prideful braggart, do you? Remember, 'Pride goeth before destruction'--” I stopped, suddenly aware of the silence in the room. Looking up, my eyes took in the cherry red face of one extremely angry “braggart”. Inwardly, I groaned at my choice of words, as I watched his lips move silently and his face shake, so overcome with emotion, I thought he might burst into flames. Slowly, I stood and took a step back, pulling Molly with me. My movement brought him to earth, and he stood up, still shaking with rage, and approached me. I was completely frozen, and Molly started to cry. This was the end. I was certain. He'd surely murder us!

Silently, I shot a short prayer heavenward. “Save us!” He took another step forward. Abruptly the ship jolted and Molly and I were knocked over. The red-faced man stumbled and lost his footing, falling sharply and striking his temple on a sturdy table. He dropped to the ground and lay still, barely breathing.

As we fell, so did a few others around the room, and for an instant, panic reigned, until a large man stood up and took firm charge.

“You and you, see to Astor,” he directed two suited men in a powerful voice one couldn’t help but obey. “Everyone else, listen up,” he spoke at large, “I'm sure the ship is in no real danger; it was designed to withstand shocks, collisions and running aground. Whatever we've struck should prove no threat. Why doesn’t everyone sit back down and carry on?” Crisis averted, he turned towards us and said, “You two had better leave. You just insulted the most powerful man on board. You really shouldn't be here when he comes to.”

So we left. As we walked out into the hallway and from there into the cold night air, Molly began to cry. She told me between sobs that she was scared, that we were going to die, that she wanted to see mother again. I wrapped my short arms around her and reminded her that Jesus was watching over us. I also prayed with her, and as I did, her breathing slowed and she seemed to relax.

She was calm now, but we were still both worried. What would we do? John Astor was the richest man on the ship; everyone had heard of him and how his great grandfather had made a fortune in America in the opium trade. What would happen when he got back on his feet? He'd find us and punish us for sure.

I thought about the rest of the voyage. There was no way we would escape his wrath. We had to do something. I walked to the side of the cabin and unfastened a life preserver, then, still holding Molly's hand, walked to the railing and looked over into the water. My brilliant idea of jumping to safety faded quickly as I watched chunks of ice floating in the water. No, that would never do. I turned away and looked at Molly who was shivering in the cold and about to cry again. Slipping the life vest onto my arm, I hugged her, wondering what to do next. How could we elude the certain and unfailing anger of the wealthiest man on board?

Suddenly, it dawned on me! We could hide somewhere; yes, that was it! We had to hide somewhere that nobody would ever think to look. Somewhere nobody else would go. Somewhere that was sheltered, and had food to last the rest of the journey. But where? I looked around, as though expecting a miraculous fortress to simply appear on deck with us. I squeezed my eyes closed, hard, and prayed again, “Father, please help us find a place to hide!” and opened them quickly. I looked around excitedly, this way and that, but there was nothing, nothing but the cold steel and wood of the deck. Dejectedly, I turned around, almost bashing my head on a lifeboat. I put a hand on the wood to stop myself. “A lifeboat!” I yelped suddenly, and Molly stared at me. A lifeboat would have food, blankets, water- everything we needed to survive until we could disembark in America. “It's going to be O.K. Molly! We'll hide in the lifeboat until we're safe!”

Painfully, I lifted and pushed until I got Molly up into the boat and then climbed in, snuggling up against her in the darkness. “It's alright, Molly,” I told her, squeezing her hand. “We're safe here! Remember what the Bible says, 'Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'” Alone in the darkness, we fell asleep, confident in God’s promise to provide a way through any danger.