An engagement, a marriage, unemployment for one spouse, pregnancy, eviction, multiple living quarters including an unfinished attic, the kickoff of a writing career, the arrival of a first child, unemployment for the other spouse, all followed by a cross-country move with a four-month old daughter leaving behind kith and kin in search of fame and fortune. What do all these factors have in common? You guess it…Kay and Chip. Oh yeah, and cram all these events into fourteen months.
I can think back on some of the decisions and choices I’ve made in life and wonder, “What was I thinking,” but marrying Kay was not one of them. After we signed, sealed, and transacted the ceremony, we headed off to Green Turtle Cay for our honeymoon. Green Turtle is a three-mile long, one half mile wide island accessible only by boat.
There were a few bungalows scattered about on both ends of the island, and on the central part there was the yacht club and a small, gated community of luxury homes owned by the gentry from other countries. We were the only ones to have rented a bungalow for that week, so the whole southern end of the island was ours. To see other humans required a walk into the village. We made the trek once, maybe twice.
When we returned from Green Turtle, life rapidly descended into chaos: lost jobs, lost housing; and within two months of our “I do’s,” lost autonomy of our couple-hood. My mother fondly called our honeymoon spot, “Fertile Green Turtle.” Nine months and four days after the wedding (Yes, Mother was counting the days), we were blessed with our first daughter.
Now when faced with the heavy realities of life, the expectation was that I should step up and take responsibility. “Get a real job,” I was told by one person, and “The Lord helps those who help themselves,” I was informed by another. Well-meaning though not biblical advice as the quotes infered.
In the midst of our topsy-turvy world, I chose not to look for that “real job,” but to write a biblical play on the apostle Paul. He had a “real job” until he took that road to Damascus. His life was turned upside down, but out of his experience a new world was created. We are all world-builders. Don’t be afraid of that Damascus road before you. Take it and create a world from all your adventures. One must live the adventure before it’s told.
