Amazing Grace
Gulping air as I reached the
skeleton of a church I had targeted from the
St. George’s harbor, I
immediately saw it was more gorgeous
with it’s roof off then it had been when
it was whole.
Last fall, the hurricane had blown the roof away and
the floor to one side was
gouged to the basement by fallen debris.
Ancient fragile carved wooden pews
were pushed to the other side where
some of the stained glass windows were
still in tact. Nature left the nave
wall standing and Christ remained on the
cross with the brilliant sun illuminating a scene usually shrouded in the
mystery of a dim sanctuary.
After
dropping a dollar in the contribution box, I felt compelled to keep going
up
the hill where there was a lovely , overgrown graveyard with English
sounding names on the tombstones. Most of them
were embedded flat so I
could jump from one to the other. I reached
the very edge of it where the
land suddenly disappeared under a tree descending
steeply, 20 stories below,
to the sea.
Down to the left the bustling harbor was being
rebuilt in front of two huge cruise ships and
their
passengers rushing the streets to find something to buy. On
the other side
was a grand view featuring the metal cage that had been a
gigantic outdoor
sports arena crushed away from the harbor, decimated and
deserted, in
danger of becoming another infamous ancient ruin.
Twirling around to
begin hopping tombstones back to the entrance, I sensed
movement beside a
lonely, naked dwelling collapsing next to the graveyard.
To the side and
above the road going down
to the beach, the bent figure of a tall, long
limbed, not young
woman, slowly dragging a huge corrugated piece of
roofing up the steep grade, came
into my view.
My first thought was to run
and help her, but then I went
reverently still, to prevent intruding on
something so intimate that
it would embarrass both of us if she knew I was
there. I observed
the torturous, tedious task of her getting this strip
positioned in a way she
could lean it against the decapitated little house. After
piling rubble
and climbing on top of it, she gathered enough strength to tip
the rippled
strip of metal onto the roof and
proceeded to push it next to
another one laid across the top of one of the
barren blue rooms. She
probably began the sustained project this morning
and already it was noon. Perhaps
by evening, she might have shelter from
sudden, short showers and be able to sleep
in privacy by tonight.
Impressed
with my glimpse of simple survival, I
chose to walk the precarious path
around the other side of the burial
ground anchored by ornate black wrought
iron enclosed graves overgrown
with lush, tropical, blossoming vegetation. I
hustled back through
town to our harbor and boarded the ship in time for
late lunch. When the
food had been cleared and everybody was declared
aboard, we suddenly discovered we had speakers
attached to
the front mast. The hearty sound of Mahalia Jackson
surrounded us with “Amazing Grace.”
“A-a-a-maz-i-n-n-ng Grace, how
sweet the sound!”
Grateful tears relieved my
eyes as we fell in place to the rhythm of the hymn,
hoisting the sails,
thus beginning our journey from Grenada through the
Grenadine Islands.
All
the elements were in our favor. The sails made that
sucking sound of
capturing the wind and the ship quickly tipped to one side.
We could still see the roofless
churches of St. George’s far behind us when
more dolphins then I had
encountered in my entire life performed as a
synchronized flotilla arching
out of the water right beside the ship, before
anyone could get their cameras out!
Surely all was right in the
universe and I had a
blessed adventure ahead
of me.
Marilynn Frances Lundy
Marilynn Frances Lundy is a business consultant and coach in NYC. She has travelled all over the world for business and pleasure, which gives her a global perspective on all that she pursues. She has written the book, "The 10 R's For Better Speaking, That Can Transform Your Life" and if you wish to purchase it, or find out more about her coaching, you can go to her website,
IntegratedLifeDesign.com Marilynn is currently writing a memoir, to be completed by the end of this year. If you want to read a blog of her most recent trip, to study Art Deco Design in Cuba last month, please go to her website,
EnvironmentsInteriorDesign.com.
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