A fellow blogger introduced me to this journal project at FOLK.  I looked through the prompts for each week and decided to give it a try.  Last week’s prompt was to find a family photo and use it to tell a story.   Thinking about all the photos and stories we have amassed through the years, I remembered an old post from a few years ago, and thought I’d put a new twist on an old story….

Change of Plans

The day started full of anticipation and excitement! We were going to take the boat out for a few days and just see where we end up! No big planning, just provision for a few days journey and head south down the Intercoastal Waterway.  A spontaneous vacation…

Our first stop was in Sarasota Bay.  We dropped the anchor, prepared a healthy lunch of tuna salad and fresh fruit, and gently swung on the hook.  After lunch, we thought a nice relaxing nap was in order, so we settled in and got comfy.   The waves splashed softly on the hull, the palm tree swayed gently on the shore, the sea birds flew gracefully over head.

We woke up refreshed, pulled the anchor, started the…..started the….started the….NOPE!  The boat would not start!  The ideal trip we planned was interrupted by a fried wiring harness. Once again, the realities of boat ownership had interrupted our plans.  After an hour or so, upside down in the hot bilge,  Mr. Resourceful had us moving again.  But just outside the anchorage, it was apparent that one of the engines was not getting full power.  There was not one, but two problems!  Sadly, maybe even angrily, we had to head back to the dock.  Slowly… about 9 knots!  In other words, it would take us about 3 hours to go the 25 miles back to the dock.  We were frustrated that our plans for a trip south, ended in a mechanical problem.  Again.

We were caught up in our conversation about “selling this piece of junk”, not paying attention to the sights and scenes around us. This was not the first time the boat had let us down, but it would be the last. We  were done with boating! We were SO through with this.

But as we made our eastward turn toward the river, we glanced back at a glorious sunset behind us and observed a pod of dolphin jumping in our wake.   You see, our tediously slow speed, made the perfect wake for dolphins to play.  We looked at each other and smiled.

Maybe we’ll sell the boat another day.

There are many ways this could have been worse…a fire could have started, we could have been much further away from the dock, we could have been in unfamiliar waters.  We were reminded that even in difficult times, in times of frustration and disappointment, we need to remember just how much we are blessed.

God is good!  And I’m so thankful that I stopped moaning and complaining and looked up to see the gift that was right under my nose.