One of the unexpected joys on this journey has been the sharing of stories with people we meet. It is quite amazing how quick connections can be made. Many conversations that start with a simple hello, progress to discussing our personal journeys within a few minutes. These discussions are often enriching and invigorating.
We were recently in Arco, ID for a stop on our way to Montana. Arco is a sleepy little town about 70 miles west of Idaho Falls. It is best know for its proximity to Craters of the Moon National Park and as the first city to be fully powered by nuclear energy. Originally I thought we stopped here because it was simply on our way to Montana, however it appears there was a greater purpose. One day Colleen and I were getting ready to head out for a drive. This gentleman by the name of David approached me to ask if I could help him unload his motorcycle from his trailer. As we walked to his trailer we engaged in small talk which migrated to a discussion about what brought us to Arco. Within a few minutes we were discussing life changing events that have led us along a path to truly experience life. Soon we were covering personal aspirations leading to spiritual growth. I could have spent all day talking with him. During the few minutes we talked, he commented on how much faith we must have for pursuing this journey. This is a comment that many people make when hearing our story. After these conversations I ponder this concept of faith and how it has manifested itself in our lives.
I would suppose when people hear the bullet points on the action we had to take in order to live this life, faith would come to mind. After all I had to leave my well paying job of 26 years. We sold our lovely home along with about 95% of what we owned. Our financial resources were limited which we will address a little later. When we made these decisions, faith really did not come to mind. We were simply jumping at the opportunity to go on an amazing adventure and live in the moment. Over the previous 11 years we witnessed Colleens condition progress. We knew at some point we would no longer be able to do this if we did not take swift action.
Little did we know what kind of shock we would experience transitioning from our old life to our new one. As exciting as the idea of living this nomadic life was, our world was literally flipped upside down. Everything was new and everything was a learning experience. Not only did we have to learn what was involved with every aspect of this lifestyle, I had to figure out how to care for Colleen while doing it. Those first 9 months were pretty crazy. We had no idea what challenges we would be presented with each day. Around this time it became apparent that we were relying on faith to address these challenges.
We realized faith was a major force in our life, but where exactly did this faith come from? To answer this question, we will have to reflect on previous experience. We have talked much about the challenges we have faced in our marriage and personal life. Through a lot of work our marriage is better than it has ever been. We have learned a lot about humility, leveling of our pride and developing a reliance on God. What we have realized is that we do not need to have it all figured out to take action. All we really need to do is attempt to live in the day and ask God for direction. This is a very simple concept, but it is very difficult to put into practice on a daily basis. We have found when we are able do this, things just happen to work out somehow. Two key components we have learned are patience and resilience. When asking God for guidance the answer often is not presented to us in a magical eureka moment. The answers are instead offered to to us in small pieces as part of a very large puzzle. With each step of the way we are presented with learning opportunities. It seems when we learn the lesson at hand we are offered another piece of the puzzle. And so the process continues.
A very good example involves our financial picture. I can remember a time in late 2017 after Colleen retired from work. I would be laying in bed agonizing about our finances. I would run numbers on how we would possibly be able to survive without the income from her job coming in? How were we going to possibly make ends meet? I frantically ran the numbers over and over. The more I agonized over it, the more I was certain we would be living out of a cardboard box within a year! Well a year later we were living out of a box, but not the one that I feared. We were living out of a box on wheels that was going to be taking us on amazing adventures!
What we had really happened between this financial agony and this gigantic life decision is a doubling down on experiencing life. We were making major life decisions not by overcoming fear, but rather in the face of it. These learning experiences continued as we got out and traveled. We were shocked at how expensive this lifestyle really was. Money was flowing out of our bank account like water from a tap. As we continued to explore this beautiful country and the fear of financial insecurity arose I had to surrender to the process. This is a process that really continues to this day. Life is as uncertain today as it was 2 years ago (actually more so). The difference is that most days I am ok with this uncertainty. On days I am spiritually centered, this uncertainty is actually exciting waiting to see what life has in store for us.
In the case of our financial picture, my fear of nearly depleting our resources had to come true for me to realize it is not that big of a deal. These fears that I often experience are simply based on an outcome that would appear devastating. They are not devastating, but rather blessings. At each turn we are offered a new set of choices and a new set of options. Each decision we make is not a road to a dead end, but rather leads to another fork in the road.
We have experienced so many amazing things along this journey which appear to have serendipitous roots, we cannot help to believe that this life is divinely guided. We still do not know what the future holds for us in many respects, but we do not have to. We simply have to lean on the faith that God will take care of us. We know that God has not brought us this far to just drop us now.
