The Perfect Storm

The movie, A Perfect Storm, was released in 2000.  The story begins in October 1991, when the Andrea Gail returns to port following a poor catch. Desperate for money, Captain Billy Tyne, convinces the Andrea Gail's crew to join him for one more late season fishing expedition. They head out past their usual fishing grounds, leaving a developing thunderstorm behind them.  Things don't go very well though, until the crew ventures even further than normal and the fish start to hit.  However, at the height of their catch, the ice machine breaks; the only way to sell their catch before it spoils is to hurry back to shore. After debating whether to sail through the building storm or to wait it out, the crew decides to risk the storm. With 40-foot waves crashing on to the deck, a broken stabilizer ramming the side of the ship, and two men thrown overboard, the crew decides to turn around to avoid further damage by the storm.  The ship is immediately capsized by a huge wave and, after a short struggle, the boat goes to the depths of the sea and the crew is never seen again.

I thought the movie was a good movie.  Most critics picked the movie apart, as usual.  However, the thing that I liked most about the movie was the spectacular scenes in the storm.  The cinematography was incredible and made you feel as though you were in the midst of a raging, terrible storm. 

That is why I could better relate to the story of John Newton.  Mr. Newton was a successful businessman in 1748.  He owned his own ship and captained it himself.  On May 10, 1748, his ship was in the middle of an incredible storm at sea, one I suppose like the storm depicted in the movie.  Until that moment, Newton had never been "religious".  However, as the storm raged on and grew even larger, Newton fell to his knees and begged for mercy.  Immediately, the storm died down, and from that moment, Newton was a changed man. 

That very moment changed his life forever, and ultimately the lives of millions.  It took years, but eventually Newton changed professsions, from that of a very successful slave trader to minister.

And he also started to write hymns.  One song of his, in particular, my grandmother loved.  The song was a song about Newton's own life and starts:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

And as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story.