Passion Project Week 5: Not what I was thinking, but...

Slade Thackeray
Oct 24
3 min read

Do you ever think about what would have happened for Noah if he built the ark and the rains never came? Would that mean that God didn't speak to him or did he misunderstand? I wonder how long it took for the rains and floods to actually occur. A "highly detailed" search, summarized by AI guesstimates that it could have taken anywhere from 40-75 years.

Now, let's not squabble over the details, or if this is truth or fantasy, let's just pretend it actually took that long. Would you continue working on a project that took 70 years to complete? And would you wait that long for the reasons for that project to actually come to fruition? Meaning would you be patient and believing while you waited for the rains to actually begin filling up the earth?

I would like to think that I could do that, but the truth is, I'm struggling with being patient and believing enough to get through this year let alone the next 70 years.

I'm the kind of person who believes in inspiration. I believe that we have loving Heavenly parents who guide us as much as they can without taking away our ability to choose and learn from our choices. I'm wrestling with a part of my passion project that did not turn out the way I thought it would. In fact it is a dead end. If I'm being honest, a dead end that I felt impressed to follow. I am grateful for what I've learned while on this road, but I'm feeling like I built a boat and then I was told the rains aren't going to come.

Like any human, I have assumed that figures like Noah, or even more recent figures like Harriett Tubman or George Washington, didn't hit snags along the way.

BIG NOTE: I'm not naive.

I know there are going to be snags. I know that there are going to be dead ends. I know there are going to be moments when I don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing or where it all leads. I know all of this, but what I'm seeing clearly at this moment is that I don't get to read my story from beginning to end, I have to live it.

I wonder what Noah felt as he grappled with the unknowns of building something unreasonable that took him decades to complete. How many dead ends did he come to? How many drafts did he have to make? How many mornings did he wake up and say, I can't work on this right now? How did he grapple with a sense of urgency while watching year after year pass by without floods?

At one point on this journey, I felt impressed that I needed to do something soon or I was going to miss my opportunity. Nothing has come from my haste. That is not a complaint, it is to say, I acted on the inspiration, did what I thought was right and nothing earth shattering has happened. But what if my dead end isn't a dead end, what if it's decades in the making? What if what you are working on isn't over, it's just in formation? I don't know about you, but it would make the project either much more tolerable or much more annoying. I hope for both of us, it would be the former.

I understand if this is too much unknown. Too much mystery. Too many questions. Call me a dreamer. Call me existential. Call me unrealistic. It won't really matter. I am believing enough to continue building my boat because compared to Noah, I haven't even started yet.

Quick metrics update:

Several lovely referrals

Another meeting scheduled

One speaking engagement booked.

Talk soon,