By the Wings of the Morning
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
There are those who say that every place in the world is now accessible within a few days -- not so of Mahé. It took six weeks and three different ships by the best arrangements possible to reach our destination. That was after a year of planning and dreaming. What could we possibly hope to find on this isolated island to compensate for our lost savings and the rupture of Roy’s temporary retirement at the height of a career from a profession that did not recognize the luxury of sabbaticals?
Grasping for understanding, my mind fought through "the Clouds of Unknowing" as surely as my eyes strained through the early morning mist rising from the sea. I was leaning on the rail of the Amra as she slipped cautiously along these coral infested waters. Did I imagine an island in the distance, or was it really there? So often my prayers seemed this way, suspended between truth and desire, as I sought the warm assurance of His actuality. Through the first rays of the sun, the almost dream-like mountains were indeed materializing on the horizon.
So hungrily had I studied the maps of the Seychelles, having dreamt this day, I was able to guess when we were passing Praslin, home of the Valley of the Giants. One book said that its primeval forest transports the visitor back to the beginning of life on Earth. Some claimed this was the original Garden of Eden. What will we find—temptation, innocence, loss, regret, fulfillment? Perhaps that was the island of Silhouette in the distance; she always wore a cloud of ermine about her shoulders.
The thrilling, almost unreal beauty of this small proud island rising green from her bed of shaded blue, accented by stark rocks protruding near lush palms, reinforced our choice of the Seychelles. Roy and I continued to experience the same assurance that had energized the unquenchable desire to come. As we understood it, this was where He wanted us to be, and that, for now, was sufficient.
It was awesome to realize that each island towering high above the sea reached down to the ocean’s floor as far or farther than it stretched skyward. How closely this resembles life! What lies below the surface of our consciousness? What sin and evil, hidden from us as well as from others? What great treasure and potential, waiting to be discovered, mined and used? Here, a thousand miles from anywhere, would I be able to skin-dive into my own subconscious, to explore and bring to the surface some segments which had been beyond my awareness? Only in human relationships could they be recognized. Only in His light could they be understood.
Even at a distance Mahé’s magical aura drew me towards her. Most of the island was clothed in prodigious shaded greens, garnishing the mountaintops. Was I seeing banana trees among the palms? Barely visible were wondrous inlets awaiting our exploration. Suddenly a sharp, stark rocky cliff pierced the view, almost shattering the peaceful calm of lapping waters. Was that an omen? As we neared Port Victoria, the children started pointing out small boats and the pirogues they had read about. If an artist were able to reproduce this on canvas, one would think it surrealistic. The colors changed every few yards in accordance with the depth and characteristic of the ocean’s floor.
Now that we were anchored about a mile off the shore, we had a clear view of the island, which was to be our home for seven months. It was easy to distinguish Port Victoria, reaching out to us with her long pier. Surrounding her were clusters of houses clinging to the mountainside. We could not as yet know that living in one of these homes to the left of town, only a short distance up, was a family who were to exert a more profound influence upon our lives than any we would ever know. .
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
In 1962, Family and friends were incredulous when Roy and Ginny confided they were selling their belongings, cashing in savings, and leaving Roy’s satisfying position to travel to an obscure island on the opposite side of the world. Why would they take their children, ages 4, 8, and 9 into the unknown for a full year? Their only explanation was they knew this was right for them, following their intuition to find more meaning in life, and to be a veritable family for a year.
Sailing third class on the original Queen Elizabeth, they launched out into the unknown, arriving at Mahé six weeks later with no connections in the Seychelles.
Their stay in this seldom-visited island, five by seventeen miles, was a microcosm of a whole lifetime. Close ties and friendships were formed with natives, as well as wealthy landowners, and a countess and earl, Governor of the Seychelles. Pivotal, were the Anglican Archdeacon, the Reverend Kingsley Walker and his family. Ginny and Roy were exposed to a full gamut of experiences including the thrill of unparallel tropical splendor, adventure, inner turmoil, temptation, brushes with death, separation, reconciliation, and above all spiritual realization.
The brief epilogue, written forty years later, hints at the fruitful, lasting results.
About the Author
Virginia Anderson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Therapy from the University of Wisconsin. She was instrumental in compiling and assisting in the editing of her father’s book, History of an American Frontier, recently published by 1st Books Library. She is now typing and editing her husband, Roy’s memoirs. Virginia authored an unpublished book entitled, Beware the Way.
As a student of languages, Virginia is conversant in Spanish, French and Italian, which she uses in frequent trips abroad. She lives with her husband, Roy, in Claremont, California and is in close touch with her three children and four grandchildren. Her prime interest is in writing poetry.