Never a Dull Moment
Some of you are wondering why we would move to the mountains, work on a 105 acre farm, and start a ministry at our age. And that would be a very good question to ask. I can’t begin to tell you how many of our friends have told us, “Be careful. You’re not young anymore”. I can honestly tell you this was not our lifelong dream; clearly God was guiding us along the way.
In an earlier post I mentioned how Vernon and I felt God calling us to country living and to ministry. We allowed God to guide us where he wanted us, and that is how we ended up here in Monterey TN on this beautiful mountain. Farming has become my love, I never dreamed I would love it, but God knew!
Our ministry, God gave it to us out of our brokenness. Sharing our testimonies has been healing not just for the souls we have reached out to, but to us as well. We are not the same people we were years ago. It amazes me that when you allow God to work in your heart, to heal you from your craziness, to break you from your selfishness, the newness that you feel inside is so foreign, but at the same time so comforting. And that is what we both felt and it was a feeling we wanted to keep.
Living on this farm has taught me so much about myself. If someone told me I would be cleaning out a chicken coop full of poop, I would have said “You are crazy. Not me!” But that is exactly what I am doing once a week. If someone told me that I would love the sound of chickens calling to let us know they laid an egg, I would have said “What are you talking about?” If someone said digging for earthworms will give you a thrill, I would clearly not agree. But that is exactly what it does. It gives me the biggest thrill. We dig for earthworms to feed our compost bins. And to be told I’d be excited about shoveling horse manure, I would’ve laughed. Shoveling horse manure is like shoveling for gold. It too feeds our compost bins. And this is just a little taste of what living on the farm is like.
What thrills us all the most is when we sit down for dinner and we eat the fruits of our labor. This is when much praising begins in our home, knowing that God gave us the ability to grow good food to eat, healthy food that is very tasty, chemical free, and all natural. I never realized that when food is grown properly you don’t have to do much to it. The natural flavors are rich and full of vitamins. Your body reacts so differently to it; I guess you can say it is very satisfied.
God’s wisdom is so much greater than ours. And He wants the best for us. We have learned that living on this farm, and I would not have it any other way. Watching my grandchildren run and play so freely with their dogs and cats gives me so much joy. We have experienced things we have never before experienced: learning how to work farm equipment, building sheds, building furniture, canning food to last a year, cutting down trees, splitting fire wood to heat our home.
Just the other day I learned to drive the riding mower. Now I can really help Vernon when we are out working in the yard. The other day while Vernon was on the big tractor shoveling manure, I was on the riding mower hauling bush that we cleared out of the horse pasture to take to the burn pile. Next I want to learn how to drive the big tractor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work and some of it is very hard work. In just a few days from now we will be moving two fruit trees to their rightful place, and prepping the other fruit trees for the spring. We have learned to work together as a family to get the job done. There is always something to do on this farm, never a boring minute or day.
It has truly been a blessing living on this farm and we look forward to all the new experiences that come with farm living.
