A Story of Isolation, Shortages, Learning, and Hope
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Isolation
It’s 1864. During freezing rain and howling winds, a ship wrecks on Auckland Island, 290 miles south of New Zealand. All 5 men on the Grafton survive the storm, and immediately begin working together to build a hut, find food and water, and set up a signal for passing ships. The days and weeks pass, bringing cold and hunger. It will be 18 lonely months before the 5 men make it safely back to New Zealand.
Isolation
It’s 2020. A year of isolation. Social distancing isolates our bodies, and masks isolate our smiles. We stay home from church, from the gym, from work, from school, and from gatherings with friends. When is the last time you went to a birthday party?
Like the shipwrecked men, we simply do not know how much longer until we are free from our isolation.
Shortages
It’s 1864. During freezing rain and howling winds, another ship wrecks on the opposite side of Auckland Island, 26 miles away from the crew of the Grafton. Six drown in the wreck of the Invercauld; 19 men get to shore. But lack of leadership brings out the worst in the men. The survivors:
steal food from each other
push unlikable men out of the shelter
abandon the sick
split up into splintered tribes
even eat the man who was “being a nuisance”!
The crews of the two ships handle shortages in very different ways, because the Invercauld has a captain incapable of seeing to the welfare of anyone but himself.
Within three months 16 men have died from injury or starvation or illness. The surviving captain and first mate will not let the remaining crewman share their shelter, but still demand he prepares food for them.
One year later, when a ship lands for repairs and discovers the crew of the Invercauld, only these three men are left alive. The captain and first mate are bathed and clothed and fed, while the one surviving crewman is expected to fend for himself among the crew below decks.
The ship sails away, never knowing that the five men of the Grafton are also stranded on the island.
Shortages
It’s 2020. Toilet paper is mysteriously in short supply, and tempers are short. Some people complain that we have lost our common sense, and others mourn the death of common courtesy. We’re telling you about the two shipwrecks on Auckland Island, and about their vast difference in leadership and concern for others.
We must take care of those around us, even when it is difficult. Even with the people “being a nuisance”.
Learning
It’s 1864. The Grafton survivors realize that they must have something to occupy their minds, or they will fall into despair. The evenings drag on! They make games (chess, dominos, cards) and they make beer.
But more importantly, they assign each man an evening when he is the teacher.
The captain teaches reading and writing.
The businessman teaches math.
Two crew members teach their native languages (Norwegian and Portuguese)
The youngest tells tales from his homeland.
Saturday evening is for games.
Sunday is for Bible lessons.
It is unheard of for officers and crew to mix like that. Upper class people simply didn’t take lessons from the lower class. Yet think of the pride and confidence each man gained in their evening leading the learning!
The captain of the Grafton is a great example of a servant-leader.
Learning
It’s 2020. Have you been given the gift of time? Maybe you’ve started a new exercise program. Baked sourdough bread at home. Picked up the ukulele. Knitted a sweater or sewed a quilt. Tried puzzles or painted with Bob Ross. Taught yourself chemistry. Binge watched TV or created a Tik Tok video. Learn something new!
Trying something new keeps our minds and bodies sharp, exposes us to new people, and helps when time drags on. Maybe you’ve even made it part of your routine to check in on other people. Phone calls and cards and conversations over the backyard fence can be so meaningful right now. The little things do count.
Hope
It’s 1865. After a year without sighting a rescue ship, the Grafton men plan their escape. They work three months building a boat for the 5 of them, which is dashed to pieces in the surf. Setback!
Again, they have to make everything from scratch. Each nail, every board from the wrecked ship, each patch in the sails – and this time the boat only fits 3 men. How do you choose?
This becomes one of their biggest arguments. “If any of us are to be drowned, let us all drown together.” Can you imagine being the two left behind?
After an emotional farewell, it only takes 5 days for the little boat with 3 men to land on a Maori island outpost. But because of storms and a little thing called fundraising, it takes 7 weeks for the rescue ship to return. And then, a storm keeps the rescue ship on the island for a week.
When the weather finally clears, they load up and everyone makes it to New Zealand. That very same day!
Hope
It’s 2020. Like the crew of the Grafton, we go through challenging times. Hopefully never that challenging! But like the crew of the Grafton, we can look to God. We can continue to worship God and pray for guidance. God will never leave us or forsake us. God is our comfort. God is our hope. Rioters can burn and loot our downtown; we can join in the clean-up. We can check in on friends and family. We can act justly. We can be hope and love because Jesus is hope and love.
