Calling All Dreamers

Chris and I have always been dreamers; as individuals before we met and now as a couple. On New Years Eve a few years back, we sat down, poured some Cab, and laid our dreams out on the table. We talked about going into business for ourselves full time and what that might look like. We etched out a plan and toasted to the future. Now the business we hashed out that night has been running full swing for almost 3 years.

A year and a half prior to that, we decided we wanted to attend G42 Leadership Academy in Spain. We put ourselves on a budget and saved up. We had to make some sacrifices in order to make it happen, but we did it! We finished our lease, quit our jobs, then moved to Spain. For six months, we ate delicious warm olives, drank local wines, and grew in maturity, both spiritually and mentally.

Even before Spain, we talked about moving to California. We started dreaming about living by the ocean almost 6 years ago! What if we moved by the beach? Could we afford it? Is it unwise? Would it be a mistake? Or would we love it and never look back? Those were real questions to consider. It was no longer just Chris and I – now we had two babies and another on the way. We owned a house in a safe neighborhood. Our mortgage was low. Our neighbors were kind. Our friends were close. But, no matter how we tried, we couldn’t keep from hearing the ocean when we closed our eyes at night. At the end of the day, we always knew we had to try. “It’s an itch we’re just going to have to scratch,” we’d say.

We wanted to pull the trigger and move last year, but the timing just wasn’t right. You see, Chris and I have a gift.  It’s called “doing-the-craziest-thing-at-the-craziest-time-possible.”  Maybe we secretly like the squeeze of doing things under pressure.  Or perhaps we’re adrenaline junkies with some major mental issues.  Either way, we seem to wait until life’s a little crazy and then intentionally add more crazy to it.

So, three weeks after Kai was born, we put our house up for sale. Getting our house ready for showings was stressful! Imagine trying to make your house look perfect when you have a crazy three year old, a wild two year old, and a newborn! By the grace of God, our house went under contract in five days.

Once we had our closing date set, we started the long distance search for a place to rent in California. We scoured Zillow, Craigslist, and local FB pages for a house we could all squeeze into. Thankfully, we have awesome local friends who’d run over and check places out for us since we couldn’t be there in person. After a couple dead ends, the third place we found was the charm. The landlord chose us out of a hungry group of would-be renters (the rental market in SoCal during the summer is, um, competitive.) So, without ever seeing the place firsthand, we mailed in our deposit and put a moving-in date on the calendar.

The next couple of weeks were filled with purging, packing, and saying goodbye to our first house.  Once the moving truck was filled (and I mean FILLED), Chris pointed it West and drove until he saw that beautiful Pacific Ocean. 

Now, here we are. I’m currently sitting in the bedroom of our cute little rental in Southern California, and I’m so grateful we did it. I’m relieved we did it. I can’t imagine not doing it. Getting here wasn’t easy. We saved, we purged, and we planned. We worked for it. And as much as we knew Colorado was only a temporary home, we had still put down some roots. Pulling them up wasn’t easy and we felt the weight of it. In fact, we still do. We’ve found ourselves in an unfamiliar place. We’re meeting new people, making new friends, and learning to move to a new rhythm. Things are uncomfortable. The future is uncertain. But dammit, it’s so good. The hard was worth it. We LOVE it here. 

I could easily sit here and tell you a bunch of romantic things about following dreams, but I’d be doing you a disservice. Dreaming alone is easy. But making those dreams happen takes sacrifice. Leaving behind comfort and security to step out  Faith is scary. Who knows what’s out there? Who knows what will happen? I sure don’t, but we can’t let those thoughts keep us from trying, from living. 

Doing the thing we’d been dreaming of, even in the face of so much scrutiny and doubt, woke me up again. It’s almost as if a part of me had started succumbing to a comfortable life, even when it wasn’t what I really wanted. I’m relieved, because I see that I almost settled for just “good”.  Taking a leap of faith was just the jolt I needed!  

May we never retire from moving, growing, changing, learning, seeking, and adventuring. May the sun never go down on our thirst for life! May we be 84 years old and still seeking, still pursuing, and still pressing in. His kingdom is a bottomless ocean. There’s no limit to how deep we can go…

“Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” –James C. Collins

Written by Jenny, Carlsbad, CA

Follow her journey here and here.