Dreams Anew

A change in the wind stirs wonder and curiosity.  Plans are revisited.  Routes are redirected.  Dreams are kindled by a new and wondrous destination. 

Over the last couple years, my husband and I have had our plans changed multiple times.  We have dreams and desires to live simply, love deeply and explore the undiscovered.  We’ve made floor plans for a tiny home, created Pinterest boards for inspiration, and pursued our passions with thoughtful planning and careful steps.  Road bumps along the way threatened our passionate pursuit allowing fear, doubt and questioning to route their way through our minds.

But we continued to move forward. Fears, doubts and questions (though uncomfortable) challenged, focused and drove us closer to achieving our goals. 

Without fear constantly behind us, we may be tempted to stop moving forward.  Without doubt we are left without the consistent opportunity to remind ourselves of the “whys” that this life continually brings.  And without question, we are beyond doubt doing what we we destined to do.  To live.  To pursue our dreams together.  To love deeply with the love of Christ.

And, after a (seemingly) long season of unknowns, where tos and what's nexts...it finally happend...we are now proud owners of a Tartan 37!  We've settled in this past week and have been figuring out the tricks of the trade and all of the dos and don'ts of living on a sailboat.  

For instance, our stove runs on propane and there are a few steps to take each time someone wants to cook a meal.  The propane tank resides in a lazarette at the stern and it's safest to keep the propane valve closed when it's not in use...so, we have to remember to turn it on and off each time we use the stove.  There is also a switch for LP gas underneath the chart table seat which needs to be switched on and off before and after each use of the stove.  AND, make sure the solenoid switch is flipped on for the gas before you try turning the knob and lighting the stove with your fire starter.  OH, and before you turn off the burner, make sure you flip the solenoid switch to the off position so that any remaining gas to the stove has a chance to burn off.  Then proceed to flip the LP gas switch to off again and close the propane tank valve.  This all needs to happen in order to prevent any gas leakages...and explosions.   After all, it would be a major bummer if you came home after work only to find just the top half of your mast sticking out of the water because your sailboat sunk to the bottom of the Puget Sound after burning down half the marina along with it...so that's an important one. 

There are several small things like this that we have to be mindful of when our home is a floating vessel, but overall it has been the most enjoyable experience.  The evenings are so peaceful and the mornings could not be more gorgeous.  (Actually, this is all the time....it's Gig Harbor people. Have you heard of Nicholas Sparks? Yeah...it's a quintessential little harbor town, but with all of the modern day amenities...like Costco.)  

Overall, we feel incredibly blessed to be living out our dream every day.  To be reminded to slow down. To live simply, love deeply and explore the undiscovered.  We set out when we first got married to chase our dreams together.  

Not knowing what that looked like at first, we had vouched to hold each other accountable to our dreams and our passions.  Always keeping an open mind to learning new things and pursuing the passions God instilled in us. 

It's going to be a wild adventure.  Exploring new sights, gaining new skills and taking advantage of each moment we have to be still.  There's a saying in Gig Harbor that goes "leave all of your stress on the other side of the bridge and just relax here in the Gig".  I think we'll do just that.  

Here's to living simply and chasing new dreams!