The doctor stood there writing out prescription after prescription. My blood pressure was too high. My cholesterol was too high. My sugar was too high. I had diabetes, was passing kidney stones, suffered from depression and the outlook didn’t look very good.

“I want to see you back here in a week for some more tests,” she said. I smiled, said “thank you” and rolled my shirtsleeve down over the tape and cotton ball covering the site of another round of blood tests.

Work was killing me – literally. Day after day I sat in my cubicle making phone call after phone call recruiting students for the university. It was never enough and nothing ever seemed to go right for them. I’m a smart man with a stack of degrees and a world of experience but I found myself being harassed constantly. No one around me was happy and one day the paramedics carried out a fellow two rows down from me. He was only a couple of years older than I am. Would that be my fate as well? After all of my adventures and travels was I destined to die on my keyboard? “Excuse me. Can I put you on hold for a few minutes? The Grim Reaper is calling.”

I was already in bed when Jan came running in. “I’ve found it!” she said. “A William Garden Mariner Ketch for $5,000!”

“What? Where?” I mumbled half-asleep.

“I was just surfing the Internet and this ad was posted yesterday!”

“It’s either a typo or a derelict,” I objected.

“Yes, you’re probably right but still…”

It was too late to call but we both had a hard time sleeping. Early Saturday morning I dialed the number in California.

“No. It’s in great condition,” Dave answered when I phoned, “and that’s the price but there is already a buyer flying down from Canada on Monday.”

My heart sank. For the past two years Jan and I had been searching for just this sailboat. We were saving for one but it would take years before we could afford it. We even had a picture of one we saw in Mexico years ago hanging in our bathroom. I just couldn’t give up and I told Dave our story. “We’ve been searching for a Mariner ketch like yours. In fact, Jan tried to see your boat last spring when she was in Ventura on business but the broker wouldn’t do it. He said it was too close to 5:00.”

That got a reaction! I kept talking about our dream and asking Dave about his. Finally I took a big chance and said, “We’ll give you $7,000 sight unseen for her.” Jan sat bolt upright and gave me a look like I’d lost my mind but Dave paused before saying, “Let me talk to the wife and I’ll get back to you.”

The rest of the day and most of Sunday were unbearable. We waited and we waited. Finally Dave called Sunday night and said, “Karen and I like you two and we’ve decided to let you have Santa Teresa.”

Saint Teresa is the patron saint of grace. Jan looked up her biography online and never was there a more perfect name for our boat.

“In 1528, when Teresa was 15, her mother died, leaving behind 10 children. Teresa was the ‘most beloved of them all.’ She was of medium height, large rather than small, and generally well proportioned. In her youth she had the reputation of being quite beautiful, and she retained her fine appearance until her last years. Her personality was extroverted, her manner affectionately buoyant, and she had the ability to adapt herself easily to all kinds of persons and circumstances. She was skillful in the use of the pen, in needlework, and in household duties. Her courage and enthusiasm were readily kindled.”

Jan smiled at me. “‘Beautiful,’ ‘Well proportioned,’ and ‘buoyant,’ Those are good traits for a boat!” As we read farther we learned she shared a love of romance stories with her mother much to the dismay of her father. From that time on “Adventure and romance!” became our toast.

A classic, mahogany sailboat at a price we could afford. Luck? Chance? Good fortune? For the past five years I’ve struggled with guilt over my divorce. For twenty years I was a minister until I “fell from grace.” I doubted God still loved me and I was racked with guilt. I had a job I hated and I was estranged from my children. If it wasn’t for Jan’s love, I would have ended my life.

Dave and Karen didn’t realize it when the allowed us to adopt Santa Teresa (You don’t buy beloved sailboats. You adopt them.) but God used them. In his great love, God forgave me of a great sin. I just couldn’t forgive myself. This wonderful gift was His was of telling me, “I still love you in spite of everything you did. Now get on with the life I gave you. Celebrate adventure and romance and, most of all, grace.”

God is a wonderful Creator but what He does best is re-create.