A bit more about us…read as second post

I mentioned in the “First Blog” that we have made a decision to leave what is comfortable to follow the uncomfortable into the unknown. When I first wrote that post, we knew only one thing and that was that Darrell was leaving his job. He was employed for 25 years at a well-known, somewhat prestigious facility in Houston. While it seemed like a dream job in the beginning, he began to feel unappreciated, underutilized, and unfulfilled as the bureaucracy of this type of work began to suffocate him and many of his coworkers. The pay was adequate but the hours might be changed on him on short notice; the on-site morale was poor and of no consequence to the top management; and his profound talents went unnoticed and unappreciated. Being a man of high standard and integrity, he excelled in his duties regardless of recognition from the employer and this strength of character is unchanged.

Darrell is a portfolio of talent. Anyone who knows him can testify to his amazing musical skills. He was very talented in sports also, but those opportunities were thwarted by an upbringing that dismissed and devalued such talents. This is not intended to demean that upbringing, but to be honest about his life experience. He had some professional opportunities in music. He was commissioned by a Houston studio to add steel guitar tracks on a country album. He was contacted more than he consented because of his own reasons.

Darrell connected with another talent of fine woodworking. In the late 1990’s we took a trip to the northeast that included visiting the lighthouses of Maine. We fell in love with Maine. A few years later, our dear friends Mike and Dee Williams began spending summers in Maine. We had recently began attending a church with Mike and Dee and they graciously invited us to visit with them in Maine one summer. While Darrell is a bit timid with people he does not know extremely well, I pushed for us to make the visit. We visited with them many more summers because they are the kind of friends who simply take a person for who they are and value individual differences.

One summer, Mike and Dee took us to The Center

for Furniture Craftsmanship and Darrell was hooked! Of all things! How is it that we discovered Maine one fall; changed churches and met Mike and Dee who moved to the town where this school was located; and they decided to take us for a visit to the school one summer?

It seems like puzzle pieces coming together, but maybe it is just happenstance.

It’s my turn to support his dream and I am delighted to do so. In reality, his dreams are my dreams. We each have personal goals and dreams but our ultimate, joint dream is that we see each other fulfill our purpose and live out our God-given talents. Yes, we could work and make more money while we age and lose some of our abilities but comforted by our financial security and routine. We just believe it is now or never, the discomfort of not pursuing the call is greater than the discomfort of continuing as we are. The tipping point has arrived and we are sliding downward or flying upward, we cannot tell. One thing is for sure, we are both excited…or, is this really “excitement?” Excitement and anxiety/stress are basically the same but one’s state of mind makes the difference. We are trying to embrace the stress of the decision and the potential consequences thereof as good for us in the long-run. On occasion the uncertainties and “what if’s” of the change make the decision much more stressful than exciting.