Sailing Faith: The Long Way Home

We find, while preparing for our voyage in Hampton, Virginia, a number of folks planning voyages of their own and a few who have actually left the dock. The planners are dreamers, conjuring obstacles to maintain the dream. As soon as the boat is all ready; boats are boats, and will never be all ready. As soon as they have accumulated enough money; there will never be enough. As soon as the kids are older, or the kids have moved out, or …

I recall a man I worked with years earlier who refused a sizeable Christmas bonus. “I always wanted a Cadillac,” he said, “but as soon as I get my Cadillac, the dream is gone. I just think the car can’t be as good as the dream.”

People know when they leave the dock, the dream is gone.

We’re new to this life, and we share apprehension and even fear of the worlds we will come into contact with over the course of our voyage, much of it bred in our American perspective that the world is a scary place.

This becomes a recurring theme: places are special because of the people there. We’re meeting many people in different places, but are yet to find one of the places where they don’t value human life like we do.

Another American curiosity was brought to our attention from people in every place we visited where it became a topic of discussion. “The Constitution of the United States of America is the greatest document ever written,”

I talk to Lorrie at night and tell her I can’t be home for Easter, and wish everybody a happy celebration.  She tells me the girls are going to church on Easter night with some friends they made, girls that work at the restaurant where Lorrie takes my calls.  Lorrie also tells me that a [...]