Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Marilyn Moseley Shares "A Sea-Sick Christmas"

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."  
Matthew 2:6 (NIV)

Praise God for our precious Shepherd who was born on that long ago Christmas Day in the little town of Bethlehem!

I am sad that today is the last day of our special series of sharing favorite Christmas Memories!
I don't know about you, but it has been such a wonderful, joyful time for us reading these precious stories as they came in, then passing them on to you.  I hope they blessed and warmed your heart!
And, now here is the last Christmas Memory Sharing Post of 2019—a harrowing, yet comical story about a Christmas ferry ride in a storm!

Guest Post #16

"A SEA-SICK CHRISTMAS" by Marilyn Moseley

"Some memories you have as a child never seem to fade, while others prompted by a story or another memory come back into view.  Being this is the Christmas season, many memories of Christmas gone by have wriggled their way to the surface, but this particular memory is forever etched in my memory as the star of the show. 

Because my mother’s family lived about eight hours away, going to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins was always a cause for excitement at Christmas.  As children, we were never terribly concerned about driving weather conditions, but rather we excitedly prepared to see all the family and looked forward to the massive family dinner followed by opening presents under the Christmas tree, and spending fun times with our cousins.  

That fateful Christmas week however, a massive storm was headed up the coastline, with its eye pointed right at our little island.  My parents decided they would leave a bit earlier than usual, hoping to outrun the storm.  The anticipation grew as we kids began our yearly fight over who would sit where in our family station wagon.  The most coveted seat, of course, was the back seat which could be folded down into more comfortable quarters for the long 8-hour drive.  Soon the station wagon was loaded to the gills, and off we went, excitedly talking about all we would see and do once we got to Gram and Gramp's. 

We lived on a tiny island, Prince Edward Island, Canada and the only way off the island at that time was by ferry.  My parents knew the schedule of the ferry, and were anxious to make it there to catch the ferry for the anticipated departure. Upon arriving at the ferry, our hearts sunk as we saw the lineup of cars waiting to board, and it surely seemed like we weren’t going to make it on this run.  The wind by this time was whipping snow across the parking lot, and visibility was diminishing. Still the ferry kept loading, and suddenly a big smile burst out on Dad’s face… we were going to make it on the ferry!  And not only that… we were the last car to board! Whooppee! With excitement all of us kids hollered out with joy…. We made it!  

As Dad drove the car up onto the ramp of the ferry, huge gusts of wind barreled across the car, and I wondered if we might blow right off into the ocean.  Dad’s smile was waning as he looked worriedly at the skies and the water.  “Well,” he said, “We made it!” 

The fun part was ahead of us now as we made our way to the deck of the ferry, and opened up the lunch Mom had packed for us.  We had just settled in our seats when the ferry groaned and tipped sideways.  Then lurching back the other direction, we could feel the momentum of the ferry moving forward.  Dad’s eyes looked a bit concerned as he walked over to the window, joining multiple other passengers there, gazing out at the ocean beneath us.

It wasn’t long until one of my sisters started to look a little green.  My own stomach felt a little woozy too.  As the ship slowly made its way forward, the deck was quiet as passengers had stopped their cheery greetings and small talk, and now most of them stood at the windows.  Soon a lurch sideways sent many of us off our seats and onto the floor.  Then back again, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Then the panic set in as passengers began making their way to the tiny bathroom, some not making it in time.  Soon every trash can, receptacle, toilet, sink, and whatever else could be found had passengers losing their stomach contents in great agony.  

The ship’s captain came on the loudspeaker warning everyone to sit on the floor and to hold onto a pole, chair, or something secure.  No one really paid much attention as most were already doing just that.  

For what seemed like light years, the agonizing lurching went on as the wind howled and the windows showed nothing but white fury.

Amazingly, my stomach’s contents stayed in place, and I crawled around the women’s bathroom dumping the trash baskets for my mom and sisters who weren’t so lucky.  I don’t know where I got my nerves of steel, but I’ll never forget being very calm and just trying to help everyone since I was mostly unaffected by the sea sickness. 

The never-ending motion finally came to a grinding halt, several hours longer than it would normally have taken.  My dad came to the restroom to help my mother and sister, while I held onto the other sister.  My brothers were holding onto Dad. Bleary-eyed and exhausted, we made our way down to the car.  

Once we were settled in, Mom and Dad began to pray and thank the Lord for our safe arrival in spite of the massive storm.  As our car exited the ferry onto the other side, we saw the gate closed and realized that the ferry had been shut down to other travelers.  

The storm continued unabated, and we inched along in the station wagon, wondering how much more we could take.  But miraculously, the gusts of wind began to cease and ease up, and soon the road had cleared enough to where Dad could drive at a decent speed again… it seemed we must have outrun the storm.   

After the long hours had passed and we finally reached our destination, I saw my father finally relax as he sunk into the rocking chair in my Gram’s kitchen.  We had made it, Praise the Lord!  We gathered together in praise and thankfulness that the awful experience we had had on the ferry had ended without any problems.  It seemed cause for rejoicing as we reunited with our cousins, aunts and uncles, retelling the story of our fateful ferry crossing.

I can guarantee you that Mom and Dad never tried to outrace another storm again! 
I can’t tell you what I got for Christmas that year, or any other details about that Christmas other than to remember how very grateful, and thankful I was that we survived a winter’s stormy ride on PEI’s Northumberland Ferry." 

Bio:
Marilyn from Mountaintop Spice is an avid hobby photographer living in North Idaho who shares her love for photography with inspirational writings on her blog and with the writing group she is a member of.  Her love for the Lord and ambition as a writer began at an early age growing up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery, whose writings were Marilyn’s childhood inspiration. Leaving the red soil of the Island, she married a Texan, and now lives in North Idaho in with her husband, two children, 20+ chickens, two dogs and the reigning king of the home, Mister Simba, the cat.   Marilyn enjoys seeking out beauty with her camera lens in the Lord's creation around her to share with friends, family, and the blogging community. She blogs at Mountaintop Spice.  Images from her photography can be found at Mountaintop Spice Photos.



A huge THANK YOU to Marilyn for sharing her heartwarming and humorous Christmas adventure with us here!  It was truly such a blessing to our hearts!

And, a huge thank you to ALL of the wonderful participants who sent us their amazing stories about memories, traditions, special gifts, and precious moments from Christmases past!

I'm sad to see this special series end!  I hope all of you enjoyed reading the stories and were as blessed by them as we were!  

May God bless all of you with a wonderful Christmas Day, and may He send peace to your hearts as 2019 continues to wind down and come to a close.  For many, this has been a very hard year, including our family.  Sometimes, peace is hard to find, but we all know WHO is our peace.  Our dear precious Lord Jesus who was born all those years ago into such humble surroundings.  His entrance into this world was not with worldly fanfare, but heralded by the angels of Heaven!  

How I love and adore Him!
More than ever before in my life, I long to serve and please Him. 
He truly means everything to me.
I hope He does to you, too!

From Kevin, Zachary, and me, we want to wish every reader a very

Merry Christmas!!

In case you missed them, you can read previous Christmas Memory Sharing Posts by clicking these links:





24 comments:

  1. I can imagine how frightening that journey must have been. What a relief to finally arrive safely!

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    1. Yes, indeed! Have a wonderful Christmas, my friend. :)

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    2. Cheryl, What a wonderful idea your Christmas memory series was and so enjoyable. Thank you for your work on all of this. :)

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    3. Thank you sweet friend, I'm glad you enjoyed my story, it was quite an adventure for sure! I pray you and your husband had a blessed Christmas Day :)

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    4. Thank you, Gentle Joy! I appreciate your kind words and am so thankful you enjoyed these posts!

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  2. Marilyn! I was reading the story, guilty of not reading the authors last name and remembering a similar journey Dennis and I took across the English Channel from Dover to Calais a few years ago. I was very sympathetic to the entire families plight, when I read the last name and realized, this is my friend Marilyn! I'm so glad that all turned out well on the journey, just as ours did.
    Marilyns blog and Instagram page are both wonderful, beautiful, full of beauty places to turn to in this hectic world of ours. She's also a neighbor of mine up here in the northwest.
    Thank you for sharing this memory with us my friend. Dennis and I wish you all the happiest of Christmases, remembering our Saviours birth.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. Oh, how wonderful that you are neighbors! Marilyn is just a precious gem and such a dear blessing to us all. SO thankful for how God has interwoven all of our paths and allowed us to meet and walk this Christian blogging path together. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Day, my friend. Praying for Karen and Dennis and all of your family and sending hugs.

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    2. Oh Betsy, it was quite a ride, one I'll truly never forget. Thank you for all your kind words, and we are blessed to live up here in this beautiful country :) Praying you and Dennis had a blessed Christmas! Much love to you :)

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  3. Those kinds of events stay with us our entire lives. And it's peculiar how God uses those difficult and trying times to help show us who we are and the strengths we have.

    Merry Christmas to all!

    And this was fun. Loved the personal stories that we can all relate to!

    God bless you and yours this Season, sister.

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    1. You are so right. God surely does use those times to reveal our strengths and to show us that He can get us through anything. I am so happy you enjoyed this series. It was just wonderful, wasn't it? Having so many share their hearts and stories with us! Such a dear blessing indeed! Merry Christmas to you and your family, brother! God bless you richly!

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    2. Truly we learned on that ferry ride just how the disciples must have felt in that rocky boat that day when they feared for their lives! I can only imagine how wonderful it must have felt to have the waves calm when He spoke Peace to that storm!

      Blessings to you Floyd, praying you had a blessed Christmas Day :)

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  4. Hi, Marilyn! What an amazing story you have shared here, my friend. So glad the Lord watched over you and your family all throughout this sea-sick storm, and allowed you to have such a special Christmas with loved ones. Hope your Christmas this year is NOT so rocky!
    Blessings to you, and of course, to Cheryl for hosting this marvelous series. And I'm amazed at how many blogging friends I've seen here. God is so good in allowing so many meaningful paths to cross!

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    1. Yes, He surely is so good to all of us! I am so thankful for each and every one of you - you all have such a special place in my heart! When I started blogging, I never dreamed how many wonderful, precious friends He would bring to me through this process. It is one of the biggest, most unexpected blessings of blogging. I hope you and Danny are having a wonderful Christmas, Martha! Many blessings, my friend.

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    2. Martha, it was truly an experience I'll never forget... thank you for your sweet comment, and I pray you and your family enjoyed a blessed Christmas Day together! :)

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  5. Marilyn, I loved reading of your frightening and wonderful adventure. I can imagine how frightened your parents must have been and am not surprised they didn't try to beat a storm again. Whew! How fun to hear the perspective of such from a child's view and to get a glimpse into a different style of life - how thankful I am NOT to have to use a ferry. :) Thank you for sharing this precious memory and what a blessing that holiday must have been. Gentle Joy

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    1. It was quite an adventure for sure, and one that always made me understand just how the disciples felt when their boat was rocked by the waves, and then Jesus spoke PEACE be still.. Thank you for your sweet comment, and I pray you and your family had a blessed Christmas Day together :)

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    2. Thank you for your visit and kind words, Gentle Joy! God bless you, my friend!

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  6. Hello dear Marilyn! OH my...what a Christmas to remember, indeed! I've never been through anything quite so scary as that but I do know how devastating sea sickness can be. My hubby was out on a fishing boat off the coast of NC with our son and for nearly 6 hours and he was terribly sick with no way to get off the boat. The Lord certainly had you all in the palm of His hand, but then, He IS God after all, right? I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas Day....and it was so nice to see your beautiful face in your bio! Hugs!

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    1. Debbie, As a child, I did not suffer from sea-sickness; today however, I would be green with the rest of the passengers, lol. Thankfully that particular ferry does not operate any longer, instead there is a bridge to cross now. It was quite an experience, and one that always made me quite sympathetic to the plight of disciples in the storm with Jesus!

      I pray you and your family had a blessed Christmas this year, many blessings to you sweet friend!

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    2. Thank you dear Cheryl for this incredible lineup of inspiring Christmas stories, I've not been able to get to read them all, but plan to try to over the next day or two. So much encouragement for this season of celebrating Jesus! Thank you for sharing my story too, it certainly made for a memorable Christmas for me, and I forever remain sympathetic to the disciples in the boat with Jesus, and rejoiced with them when He spoke Peace be still!

      I pray you and your family had a blessed Christmas Day, you always remain in my prayers, and I look forward to what God has in store for you in upcoming 2020! Many blessings, hugs and prayers!!!!

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    3. Thank you for your visit, Debby, and for sharing the story about your husband's "adventure!" I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

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    4. I am so thankful you are enjoying the Christmas stories and SO grateful to you for sharing about your "Sea-Sick Christmas," Marilyn! I so appreciate your prayers and trust the Lord will send many blessings to you and your family in the coming year, also!

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  7. Marilyn, what a Christmas story! I had a bad ferry ride a few years ago, and hearing you describe yours made my memory so vivid! Cheryl, thank you for the wonderful series of Christmas memories. I see you linked a couple of our favorite John Denver songs, we love his music and saw him many times in concert! Blessings my sweet friend!

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    1. Oh, how neat that you saw John Denver many times!! I will have to tell my husband. He LOVED John Denver! I will never forget the day John died, we felt like we had lost a close, personal friend. I am sure you and Butch felt that way, too. His Christmas album has been one of our favorites for many years! I am so thankful you enjoyed the Christmas memories posts! Many blessings to you and your dear family in the coming year, sweet friend!

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