Bon Voyage – Sniff.

Glad I’m not the one calling the shots.  So grateful the Big Guy Upstairs is.

And this is why…

My husband loved this boat, babied it, took better care of it than any other vehicle he owned.  If it didn’t get washed down every time he pulled it out of the water he would go nuts.  The thing sparkled it was so clean.

 

I on the other hand was the boat Grinch and sometimes despised the cost of the big hunk of  …,   BUT I Loved the memories he was able to make with our children and family on it.  Financially, it was a strain.  But we were always careful.   It was a Joy!

On board we visited different countries, (Hello Beautiful Victoria,Canada, and the country of imagination – Yo Pirates), scenic and quaint picturesque islands of the San Juan’s.

 

Nearly every trip to the San Juan’s we were able to see the breathtaking Orca’s in their natural habitat.  And their beauty in nature is so awe-inspiring that the Orca shows’ at Marine Parks pale in sad comparison.  I’ve never seen anything so beautiful as free Orcas, dolphins, sea lions and soaring bald eagles.  All of which are plentiful in the islands.

 

Having a boat gave us the freedom to explore scenic State parks that could only be reached by personal craft. 

Plus, we always got the best seat in the house every time the Blue Angels came to town.

Prince Erik loved tossing the kiddo’s overboard.  They loved it too.

And we could drag them around by a rope when they gave us any lip.

 

‘Faster, Daddy, Faster.’

 

We put our boat on the market 1 1/2 years ago when our families finances started to show some strain.  But nearly everyone else in the country was undergoing similar money woes.  So the people who viewed my husbands pride and joy were few and far between. 

Last spring was the best time to sell.  Before boating season began.  But days turned into weeks and we couldn’t understand why it was taking so long to sell.  It was meticulously maintained, had less than 275 engine hours, and was priced competively. 

Then around 10 weeks ago when the biggest trial our family has ever gone through hit – the boat was a blessing from heaven.  We knew that Heavenly Father knew we would need it.  That’s probably why it hadn’t sold.  For three weeks it sheltered and buoyed us up.  Somehow, it also got more wear and tear on it than it had the previous 8 years we’ve owned it.

 

Then things calmed a bit and we cleaned it up.  We were so grateful that it hadn’t sold because the sweet boat saved our bacon during those three weeks at the end of summer.

But finances were still tight and we had to list the boat again without much hope of actually selling it because – Who buys a boat after boating season is actually over?  However once it was listed we had people calling round the clock to look at it.  More than in the previous year combined.

Once again we realized that we are not in charge.  God is.  He knows what we stand in need of and has taken care of us yet again.

The boat was sold.  And Friday it left our family with it’s new owners.  And at Sunset – how appropriate is that?

Some say that the happiest days of a boaters life is the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it.

Not true!  It was a sad day Friday – we will miss the big hunk of gas-guzzling family fun.  It was a huge sacrifice on my husbands end in order to keep me a stay at home mom for a while longer, and pay for new unexpected expenses.

It was also a reminder of the fact that when we rely on the Lord his time-table will always be the right one.  We can’t see the end like he can and we sometimes get impatient.  But he knows our true needs and has taken us under his wing yet again.

Someday, I’d love to buy my Prince another boat.  To see him standing behind the ships wheel with the wind blowing through his hair, with a big old school boy grin on his face  - That would melt my heart with joy.  It might not be for a long while yet.  But maybe just maybe one day we’ll hear the sweet little voices calling to him,  ‘Captain,  permission to come on deck?’

‘Aye!’