Bob Chasing Peacocks

About four years ago we began discussing what each of us would do when one of us passes away. What became clear to us was that neither wanted to leave the other with a burdensome amount of “clutter” that needed to be sorted through and painfully disposed of.

After 43 years of collecting there had grown to be an abundance of memories but also an exorbitant amount of just plain stuff. For the past 17 years we have lived on a very picturesque home on 5 acres with agriculture and landscape responsibilities. You can imagine the collection of odds and ends that eventually ended up in my barn/shop. We didn’t want any of this to end up being the responsibility of the other when that day of departure finally comes. This was concerning to us because neither of us had an answer for this dilemma. 

As time went by, neither of us came up with a clear cut answer, other than the silly thought of selling everything to start over. We were concerned for Colleene’s mom so didn’t really pursue the drastic thought of selling out. Besides, neither of us really wanted to think about the eventual passing of the other.

I have to admit that my concern for ridding ourselves of this beautiful property was not a priority for me. I felt we could accomplish all that we needed in some other way. After all, I had spent hundreds of hours over the years in designing and arranging for the upgrades to the property. How could I simply walk away from it all?

On the other hand, Colleene proved that she wasn’t as attached to the property as I was. She has had no issue over the years to travel for an extended period of time. I have had great difficulty in traveling due to my mindset of “what’s going on back at the house?”.

So, there I was. In August. In Thailand, having spent the last 5-6 days with Meghan and Colleene at a conference located at a beautiful resort. I was sitting at an outdoor coffeehouse with Meghan watching a male peacock fretting over several small birds having having their way with his pan of food. He was fixated on these intruders and couldn’t seem to remove himself from this hallowed ground.

Just over a short fence, not more than 4′ high and thirty feet away was a lush lawn area that provided ample room to wander and it undoubtedly contained plenty of food to graze on. He had made a couple of feeble attempts to leave by flying just over the fence but….. within eyeshot of his favorite feeding spot. Sure enough, his peace was shattered as he spied another set of the small intruders happily gorging themselves on the supply of grains and nuts. His frenzied return stalled yet another opportunity for him to flee the boredom of the enclosure. 

I watched and begin to think…..God has gifted this amazing bird with the most beautiful feathers of all His creation. One simple movement can display the grandeur of iridescent hues in red, blue and green. Now this giftedness is all but forgotten due to his harried return home to “take care of business”. He is now just a simple bird with no appreciation for the opportunity provided to him by the goodness of the Creator of the universe. Suddenly the light clicked on in my brain and I realized that silly bird was ME!!! It was brilliantly clear that I was exactly what that peacock was representing. I can’t escape the confines of my own home because it actually owns me.

I became suddenly convinced that I had to move. I had to sell to make total sense of what I had just witnessed. Colleene and I spoke that evening deciding to place our home on the market and allow God to make His path known to us. 

A few days later, upon our return to the USA, we notified our realtor of our desires. We began the process of staging the home and were able to place it on the market approximately one week later. We were shocked that a full price offer came through only four days after it was officially listed. 

We moved out of the house on December 5 and relocated Colleene’s mom into a mobile home in a 55+ community here in Morgan Hill.  She loves the change and is in the process of connecting with all of her new neighbors. The home also serves as a temporary stay for Colleene and I as we begin our journey.

Our plan now is to spend 2017 on the “road”.  We are now free of the enclosure that was possessing me and are now able as husband and wife to globally explore for His purpose in us.  

We just completed a 10 day stay in Maui allowing ourselves to decompress from the emotional rollercoaster we experienced Nov-Dec. We have since returned home to Morgan Hill on January 31 and headed to Thailand from February 6-28. We’ll be visiting Meghan and also working with a young couple on the Myanmar border helping to train displaced refugees how to work in their new found environment. The couple helps to integrate the Christian values into an existing system that promotes graft, corruption and sex trafficking.

March 1 we head to Aukland, NZ for a month of exploring the entire country.  This has been on our bucket list since we first starting dating 43+ years ago. We return home on April 1 with nothing definitely planned as of yet.  Colleene is due for a trip to Brazil at some point after our return, but that will be determined by health issues of her dear friend in Sao Paolo.

We are looking forward to what this coming year has in store and are so grateful for God’s allowance to make this even possible. I never would have thought it conceivable to find ourselves “homeless” but it actually has become freeing.