Roz Savage was a woman looking to find herself. In this article she explains how she did it and Newsweek believes it’s an example to follow. I think she took a wrong turn, what do you think?
“I wanted a challenge that would help me find out just what I was capable of when I put my mind to something.” Not a bad goal. I like challenges and taking risks- it makes life spicy. 🙂 My question is how that relates to “I ended my marriage to row the Atlantic”. Was marriage not an extraordinary enough challenge to warrant the same tenacity?
Ms. Savage graduated from college the same year as me. She admits she went into a career she didn’t like and stayed there for 11 years until she reevaluated her life. Great idea! What is life all about? What do you want to have done when it’s all over? What does Ms. Savage decide is most important?
“I pared down life to the basics to find out what really mattered to me..” Why did this not include her husband. She “let go of everything that represented security” What’s the difference between the four things she left- job, husband, possessions, home?
I can’t help but wonder what her husband thought. How did it effect him? What was their relationship like? Was their relationship “impossible”? She tackles the impossibility of crossing the ocean with gusto. What if she had done the same with the covenant she made in marriage? Why was it an “either-or” kind of decision? What if she’d switched jobs, rowed the ocean AND worked on her marriage? What could they have accomplished together?
The next paragraph she writes of going to her mother’s house. She didn’t have to get rid of that relationship to accomplish her goals?
“The only thing worse than carrying on was to quit. And somehow, eventually, one oar stroke at a time, I made it to the other side.” She wouldn’t quit to row the ocean but she would quit her marriage to do it? Are these confused priorities?
Are we made for relationships or accomplishments? The Bible teaches that true fulfillment comes from serving the Lord and serving others. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others,” Philippians 2:3-4. I hope Ms. Savage continues her search for meaning in life and finds Christ, who satisfies more than the right job or an amazing feat ever will.
[Well, what are YOUR thoughts on Roz and Julie’s differing perspectives? Let us know in the comments below. I for one am glad my wife is committed to sailing through this life with me (even if it isn’t always smooth sailing) instead of rowing across the Indian Ocean. Perhaps that’s just selfish.]
