You may have heard the recent story of a young couple who sold all their possessions to buy a sailboat, only to have the boat sink two days into their trip. Nikki Walsh and her boyfriend Tanner Broadwell decided nearly a year ago that they were tired of working. Walsh wondered how they could really enjoy their lives when they were working most of the day and had to pay so much just to get by. So, the couple sold all of their furniture and their SUV and purchased a 49-year-old boat in which they would live and eventually sail the world. They lived on the boat in a marina for a few months as a preparation period, before embarking on their journey. Then, nearly two days into their venture, the couple’s boat capsized in a channel of water called John’s Pass. The couple was left with just $90 in cash, no jobs, and no boat insurance.
From what I read, Walsh told a reporter, “Everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve owned since I was a child, I brought with me. It’s just floating away and there’s nothing I can do.” She kept a positive outlook, though, as she’s also reported to have said, “The boat sank, but our dreams didn’t sink with the boat.”
I feel terrible for this couple and I truly hope they can bounce back and have a great life together. But this whole story reminds me of the irony that overshadows our days on this earth. We are sailing on sinking ships. Not only can we not take anything with us when we die, we might just lose it all before we die. I’m reminded of a few Bible verses as I ponder this sad but interesting story:
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. – James 4:13-14 (This reminds me of the words of Ms. Walsh when she said that everything she had was floating away and there was nothing she could do.)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-21 (This reminds me of another comment from Ms. Walsh, when she said that her dreams didn’t sink with the boat; she was able to hang on to something that could not be destroyed.)
We’re not guaranteed another day, or even another breath for that matter. All we can do is focus on the things that really matter, the things of which eternity consists. And those things can be summed up with this: love God and love people. Love will remain forever. It’s not confined to this sinking ship, this life that will vanish quickly. And it’s not treasure on earth that can be stolen or ruined. Like the woman’s dreams that didn’t sink with the boat, we have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for [us]” (1 Peter 1:4).
Troy Burns