In true fashion of  A Sculpted life… The dream of owning a boat comes full circle. I grew up on the ocean,  the beaches of Southern California and of course the incredible Channel Island National Park were integral to the life of my youth. . However, in the latter part of my young adult life I had an encounter with God.  I remember it with incredible detail, If your not a believer I don’t expect you to understand completely, but it transformed my life moving forward.

    I was working as a deck hand aboard the 110ft “Jolly Roger” set to depart on a three month trip from the Southern California port of Ventura Harbor to various places along the way north to Alaska. Our mission was to haul a two-man submarine called the “Delta” and her crew, to different locations for a variety of research operations; Seismic studies off the coast of northern California to monitor a fault line with geologists, A wreck dive in the Puget Sound, Grey Whale studies off the coast of Sitka, Alaska  and finally Tanner Crab studies around Kodiak Island, Alaska and  It was on this final leg of our trip that my life was forever changed. 

These very long a grueling trips are difficult, but rewarding, not only was I seeing and exploring new territories, but I was also stacking up my sea-time and experience to acquire my 100ton masters Captains license. At this point,  all of my passions were intrinsically tied to the sea, but as we set out to cross the gulf of Alaska, over 650Nm of open ocean and one giant decision awaited me.

As crew we all spent some time in the wheelhouse monitoring systems and keep watch as our autopilot steers the course, on long passages such as this it translates Into lots of quiet time spent staring over the ships wheel and into the cascading horizon. On this particular day we were experiencing massive ground swells.  The wave heights ranged from 40-50 feet high, but the period between waves was long. The period is the time between the peak of one swell, to the peak of the next swell at it would pass a fixed point. It felt like stepping on a slow escalator, for which you know you’re going up, but can’t see beyond what’s right in front of you, if for only a very brief moment before plunging right back down once again. As sat their perched in the captains chair peering over the instruments and into the oncoming waves God brought to my mind a desire, and then a question. The best I can describe it was like a series of images flashed into my consciousness bringing detail where there wasn’t before.  I suppose some context is in order here….  I was raised by a single Mom, and my Dad left my brother and I and of course my Mom, when I was about 3 years of age. I was raised in the Christian church and nearly all of my youth I longed for a Dad, maybe more than that, … a strong family.  So the images God gave me were pictures of a family, and furthermore the question … do you trust me?  

I wrestled with the experience, but still had great clarity. It took me a couple years to follow through  as I did actually obtain my captains license at 19, only to use it for very short period of time. The ultimate result was me moving to central Washington leaving the ocean entirely. I left my home in Ventura ,California with all my belongings and  moved to a small town called Mason, WA without ever having gone there before. There are times when I look back with disbelief, but it’s true I followed open doors of opportunity and prayed … reminding God in my prayers of what I left to follow his lead.  Many other monumental things happened along the way Friendships, My wife and subsequent family as well as my life as a sculptor  

I get goosebumps writing this…because I can now see God knitting together this vision from so long ago perched in that captains chair peering out across the deep blue ocean … I often wonder what my life would look like had I not had the courage to hear His voice. A disjointed childhood and giving me a vision for following him to lead me to the life I have now.  I did, and still do miss the ocean terribly, but God filled it with other things as I raised my family.  You see, living  A Sculpted Life is one that allows you to be shaped  along the way,  but is also much more than that, its also looking at the bigger picture and striving to do, and be the very best you can… putting forth effort when you feel weak. 

Broken family – Gave me a vision for my own family

No place to go – gave me a place to go, can the desire to move out in faith

No Career- He gave me abilities I had no idea I could achieve (23 years making Sculptures)

No wife- He gave me a wife

No family-  He gave me a wife and Three wonderful Kids

No ocean – He Gave me Raven

I am by no means perfect nor is my life, but I am blessed beyond measure for the life and the people God has placed in it. Don’t think for a minute that I have not taken in the symbolism of my beautiful Nor’Sea 27 “Raven” and the youtube channel name ” A Sculpted Life…” they both are  constant reminders of what we can do when we allow God to take the lead.