A man named Bill (part 2)

(Be sure to readPart 1 first!….)

Continuing from the previous post…

Remembering the impact of our last encounter, I planted my feet firmly in readiness to receive whatever Bill had to offer.

He did not disappoint.

“I was thinking about you two last night and I came across a little story. Have you heard the story of the eagle, the dolphin and the gnat?” Bill asked.

I hadn’t. Bill smiled. The story began.

One day God was trying to figure out where He should put “courage”

Courage was important, it needed a special place.

An eagle flew by…..The eagle said….Give courage to me! I will take it high into the sky and hide it in the heavens! The Lord replied…No, that will never work, mankind will eventually explore the sky and even the heavens. It will become too easy for him to find courage. He will not appreciate how special it is.

A dolphin swam along…The dolphin said…Give courage to me! I can take it deep, down into the ocean, all the way to the very depths of the ocean floor. Surely that will work! God said…No, that won’t work either. Mankind will definitely explore the depths, even the deepest darkest parts of the ocean floor. He will find courage too easily if we put it there.

A teeny, tiny gnat flew by…The gnat had an idea….Hide courage deep within man himself. It you hide it within him, man will certainly have to look long and hard to find it!

Courage.

It was the very piece of the puzzle that we lacked. We had been looking high and low, but it had evaded us. We had looked everywhere except inside ourselves. Of course if the Lord had given us this opportunity would He not also equip us??!!

Bill promised to continue in prayer as we made our decision. I thanked him and hurried back to the motorhome to share this story with Scott.

For awhile we sat in silence. Pondering the magnitude of what seemed to be happening around us, to us, so very specifically for us.

No doubt it was powerful.

Some would call it coincidence. Scott and I knew it was divine.

Day 3

The day had arrived. The sand was rapidly falling through the hourglass and something that no human can control marched on….Time.

We raced it, we resisted it and we (at times) squandered it, but nevertheless it passed.

I woke up that final morning still wrestling with fear!! Ugh! How can this be? Even recalling my encounters with Bill and my constant conversations with Scott, the fear was still there!!

As I had my coffee, I took a moment to analyze my feelings and get a grip on where exactly they were rooted. Turns out, the fear I woke up with was not the same fear I felt yesterday. Oh no, this was a fresh, new nemesis. An enemy saved for the final hours of our approaching deadline. This fear was NOT what would happen if we said yes and moved to Pago Pago….this fear flowed from the idea of what would happen if we said no?

How would we feel 1 year, 2 years, 10 years from now if we walked away from this chance? Even with all the unknowns, was staying in life’s safe harbor worth missing the adventure of a lifetime? Were we willing to trust that those good gifts that Bill mentioned would be waiting for us?

Our time on Earth certainly doesn’t promise to be free of danger. There is no guarantee that we won’t face terrible times of sadness and turmoil. Our emotions can become so intensely powerful when faced with any challenge that it often seems there can be no way through. These 3 days had been a whirlwind of all types of chaos!

But.

It was also filled with all types of blessings!

Turned out Scott was feeling the same about turning down this chance. He felt similarly about facing regret in years to come.

We both smiled. We both exhaled. Most importantly, we both agreed!

Our answer was “Yes!”

The email was sent, the offer accepted.

Off to the South Pacific, off to a life unknown, off to the adventure we so deeply desired! These two small town kids were headed across the globe and we were ecstatic!

When we saw Bill later that day he left us with one final reminder…..

“Remember, there are two types of fear…..I can be out in that ocean (pointing to the Gulf) in a small rowboat, alone, with gigantic waves crashing in and a hole in the boat…I am afraid and rightfully so! On the other hand, I can be out in the same ocean, on a luxury liner, in calm waters, with an experienced Sea Captain at the helm. I can still have fear, but it isn’t justified by my circumstance.”

Bill encouraged us to trust God as our captain and His plan as sea worthy!

How beautiful. What a perfect visual for us.

All seemed dreamy and surreal. We floated on the high of the adrenaline humanity experiences after doing something fun and crazy! Our final days on the Gulf of Mexico were fabulous as we revelled in what was ahead……and then we headed home.

Back to Michigan, back to work, back to reality.

Now it started to become real and we’re just getting started. 🙂