Dropping In, Then Dropping Out, Then Dropping In

Our boat Flyaway in Bora Bora.

Chris and I attended college in the 60’s.  We didn’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or party.  We weren’t “hippies.”  But we did want to drop out.  Our plan was to live on a sailboat.  With an unconventional life like this we wouldn’t be required to mow lawns, drive and maintain cars, rent, own, or furnish a house.  We would have plenty of time to pursue hobbies, fun, and relaxation.  So after getting our bachelor degrees and getting married we took off for Santa Barbara, CA.  We would spend hours at the marina in Santa Barbara looking at boats and trying to decide which type we would like to live on.

When we had no money for bills, after paying our rent and borrowing money from our landlord for groceries, we decided to return to school and get our teaching certifications.   Suddenly our lives spiraled out of control.  Chris got a job on the school newspaper as editor and I got a job in the campus library.  I was also a student teacher and Chris was in the National Guard, which required one-week end a month and two weeks in the summer for drills.  Before we knew it we were land locked and owning a house—Chris got a job as a photographer on the daily newspaper in Spokane and I worked as a first grade teacher. 

After the birth of our daughter six years later, and the birth of our son six years after that, and by then living in our third house, we had settled down to mowing lawns, driving and maintaining cars, and all the things we had not planned to do.  But it was all worth it because we now have wonderful kids and fantastic grandkids.  And because of this pressure we needed God.  We attended church and Bible studies and grew in faith.

 God then blessed us with enough to retire young, buy a boat, and we were able to take off on our adventure.   Sailing first to Mexico and then Chris crossing to the South Pacific completed our adventure.  (I was the smart one—no 24 days at sea for me.  I flew over to Tahiti.)  After much sadness on Chris’s part, and much joy on my heart, we returned to land and now live in a condo.

Granted, while we were living on the boat, we had no lawn to mow, or cars to maintain; but I found the isolation of cruising the biggest drawback.  For me there were other problems including having to conserve on water, use the shore facilities, and basically camping out.  At each port where we stayed awhile, I would look for a church and a writing group.  But I would spend as much time as possible on e-mail contacting my friends and family back home. 

God has been very good to us—every good and perfect thing is from above.  We’ve grown and learned that God’s ways are better than our ways.  Sometimes we don’t get to do the things we planned to do; but if we obey God’s teachings, trust that His promises in the Bible will come true, work steadily and faithfully at the jobs currently assigned,  we know that there will be joy at the end of life.