Yesterday we returned from a week in Margaret river with my good mate Stuart Wesley and his family. I have known Stuart since high school so you could certainly call us old friends and in those 25 years we have become very good friends.

So… how was it?…

I guess that all depends on what you look at, or maybe what you choose to look at. It was a very mixed week and writing this is as much for me to make sense of it as for you to read it. Read on if you like, pass it over if you don’t like to hear people’s stories of disaster!

Let me begin by saying we had a great time as families holidaying together – fun, friendship, laughs, depth, all the stuff you’d hope for. We hit the beach, the cafes, went fishing, talked, relaxed… it was sensational!

other boleyn girl the movie But…

You knew there was a ‘but’ didn’t you?!

There were a series of events that put a dent in things and left us more than a few $$$ behind the eight ball.

The first happened on our second day when we were out fishing just south of the Busselton Jetty. I have been really happy with this boat and the motor has never let me down… until that day. With a southerly wind blowing and the anchor slipping we knew we were drifting towards the jetty, but there was heaps of time to kick it up and power off. Then Stu caught a fish, then the phone rang, then suddenly we were getting closer, then the motor wouldn’t start, wouldn’t even turn… quickly I turned to the auxiliary motor as we got within 10 metres or so. It had never let me down… until that day… It failed too and we drifted into the jetty, getting driven by the swells. The only hope was to somehow guide the boat between the pylons while the swells buffeted us (and while the 3 year old and 10 year old sat tight). We managed it with only minor damage to the boat and then discovered that in the panic I had been trying to start the auxiliary while it was in gear…

We got back to shore all safe. Now I’m sure it was Stu’s idea to do a beach launch… as I am very cautious these days…

We pulled into shore to what was loosely described by the Busso shire as a ‘boat ramp’. Basically its a sandy stretch of beach with a sign up that says ‘boat ramp’. Stu backed his Patrol up and we loaded her up onto the trailer. As we were doing this the Patrol was sinking into the sand somewhat, so when it came time to drag her out the beast was going nowhere… Only option = re-launch the boat and drive out.

So we pushed the boat off and I took off to the marina on the auxiliary motor leaving Stu to drive out. When I was about 200 meters down the beach I noticed his car was still there and wondered why… Turned out he was unable to drive out, was bogged up to the top the front tyre! A nearby tractor pulled him out just before water started splashing inside. He was more than a little worried…

We got home and were grateful for averting a series of potential disasters. On Monday I dropped the boat in to the friendly guys at the local marine shop to get it looked at. It seemed like nothing more than a fuse or something simple. So I thought… An ignition switch finished up costing $130 plus another $160 labour. Ouch… That hurt!

A few days later the brakes started to grind – metal on metal. Again I booked them in to get done – no big drama except that it was an unexpected hit and they tell me the brake rotors aren’t too flash either…

On the way home though things got serious… By Mandurah we were spewing out oil from the motor. We stopped but I couldn’t find the source, (because there was oil everywhere) so in an attempt to get home we refilled and pushed on. I was starting to feel pretty low… this was not a good way to finish up.

I have become increasingly aware that spiritual attack for me often takes the form of financial loss – when we get hit I get stressed / down etc. My stress meter was rising rapidly. I was praying we’d make it home.

With 80km to go as we charged up the freeway everything went pear shaped. There was a clunk, the charge light came on and the engine began to overheat. I could only drive 100 metres before having to pull over. I thought it was a fan belt and wasn’t worried because I carry a spare. However opening the bonnet was not a pretty sight. Inside I saw the camshaft pulley and harmonic balancer had completely popped out of the motor…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _   Insert your own expletive here. I know I did.

What are the chances of that?! (Pretty good apparently… When I spoke to a mechanic today he told me it happens all the time on 2F motors!) So there we are at 7.20pm – on the freeway – still 80 kms from home – a boat to tow – two kids – a dog – an amazingly understanding wife and a now pretty devastated me. Up to now I was still seeing the glass half full, but right now… well… I’m no mechanic but I can tell that when those sorts of things go wrong we are throwing lots of $$$ down the toilet.

To cut a long story short(er) Stuart came back and picked up Danelle and kids and dog and boat while I did a roadside RAC sign up (yup more $$$$) and waited an hour before getting towed home. Today the mechanic tells me the last one of these he did cost around a grand…

As I sat on the roadside waiting I was very concious of the whole spiritual dynamic that was going on. This was killing me. I hate wasting money. I hate being irresponsible with what I’ve been given. After the boat incident I had been seriously discussing with Danelle whether we could live lives of discipleship and own a 4WD and a boat just given the ongoing maintenance costs. Is it a lack of integrity to live like this?

I had been churning these issues around quite seriously… before the freeway blow up. I’m still asking those questions – what does it mean to live counter cultural lives of discipleship? Does it preclude owning a boat and 4WD? (I don’t think its that simple) How much can you justify spending on these things before you say ‘no more’?…

As I sat on the side of the road I began to reflect on what had happened. Basically we had lost a hell of a lot of money. No one was hurt, life was not ripped apart. We just have less $$$ now than a week ago. I needed that hour to regain perspective. I won’t say I came home without a care in the world, but from there things changed.

Willy the tow truck guy rolled up. It turned out he lives two streets from me in Brighton. He was stoked. ‘You’ve made my day. I needed a big job!’

‘Pleasure mate…’

Actually we had a great time on the way home. As he dropped the car off we looked over my boat and agreed to head out fishing some time soon. I invited him to our Christmas party tomorrow and it turned out he was already coming as another neighbour had asked him. We discussed life, work, God, fish and had a real good time.

download picnic free Today Mark from across the road told he’s got a month’s holiday and if I need a hand to fix the car he’ll help me. Mark is one those blokes who can fix anything so I’m thinking we might spend some time this week hanging out and fixing the motor. On my own I don’t think I’d bother, but it could be fun to do it with him.

As for the next two weeks of holiday…

Well, I’m debating whether to take it now or later. Its real hard to have a holiday round here, to be disciplined enough not to check email, to avoid the phone etc…

I finish today feeling a little stressed about it all. Not devastated, but neither am I ‘over it’. It has hit me quite hard – such is the nature of the spiritual battle we find ourselves in. This is a weak area for me, one I am increasingly concious of. I don’t often label things ‘spiritual’ – sometimes they are just ‘life’, things break, they need fixing yada yada yada. Ironically we have seen God give us heaps in this whole area too so I am confident that we will never be left stranded.

Anyway… how was it?

Good – real good! A few mishaps but nothing too serious 🙂 I think I believe that… I just need to make a few $$$ now to pretty up the bank account!