Not Without Hope

Since I spend so much time on computers, I listen to audio books instead of reading them to preserve my eyes.  I don't wear glasses every day but I do have a very mild prescription for the few times when my eyes feel too strained.  One book that I just finished listening to is Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler.  He went on a deep sea fishing trip with 3 other men and he was the only survivor.  I remember hearing about them on the news when they were lost.  I actually prayed that they would be found soon.  I couldn't imagine being lost in the ocean for even a few hours, let alone 43 hours to be exact.  The other 3 men were his best friend Will Bleakley, and 2 NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith.  Marquis was the first one to die, then Corey and finally Will. 

One of the scariest points of the story is when they noticed 2 sharks in the water.  They weren't really huge, maybe about 5 feet but they were afraid and clung to the capsized boat even though the waves kept knocking them into the water.  There was another scary part when something best described as an Octopus came near the boat and ended up hanging out underneath the boat for like 2 hours.  A few times they thought it was gone and then they would notice the tentacles protruding from underneath the boat.  They were so relieved when it finally left.  I think it was just him and his best friend Will at that point, but I can't remember.

Nick said that he prayed a lot, asking God to please help them all survive.  He couldn't fathom the thought of his mother at his funeral so he never lost hope.  After he was saved, he asked God why he was the only person to survive.  He was very used to being exposed to cold weather when he was younger.  Maybe that was a major factor.  I believe the cold would've killed me.  Most black people do not handle extreme cold temperatures very well at all.

 I hope that Nick has a relationship with God.  A relationship where he does more than pray.  I hope he reads the bible and fellowships with other believers.  I thank God that at least one of them survived and told the story about what took place out there in that ocean.  I pray for the families of the other men that died.  I hope that they don't despise Nick for being the only survivor and telling his story.  This is something that he endured and he didn't cause any of this to happen but this is what he personally endured and I believe it helped him cope with everything that he went through by sharing his story.