I thought about this as I stood in our pantry. This pantry is a proper sized pantry. Walk-in. Plenty of shelving. I scanned the shelves of non-perishable grocery store food. A solid 4 months worth of food. A measure of wealth around here. Good but it could be better. I stood there envisioning those shelves filled with my own preserved food straight from our land. It hit me. That it was time. I've got to make room. Let the grocery store provisions dwindle. Empty the shelves. Followed by the thought of...but what if?
What if the seeds I sewed don't sprout? Or the sprouts don't survive transfer? Or the plants don't produce good food? Or the food is ravaged by critters? What if there is not enough food to preserve?
I suppose that's what faith truly is. Believing in the best outcome in spite of the obstacles. Knowing God will make a way when our vision is limited. Boldly doing hard and improbable. His work, you know, the things he puts on our hearts, the wild ideas, the scary things that nudges at our hearts until we courageously jump in, the hard work. The things we have to do to make room for Him to do His best work...
I look around at what we've accomplished in the short time we've been apart of this land of ours. We've been clearing spaces. Turning the land from a beautiful landscaped yard that the former owners lovingly kept to a proper functional piece of land that works for our family's needs. Last spring, we jumped right in, acquiring our first flock of chickens and turned an old lean-to into a fabulous chicken run. We're getting ready to add more chickens to our flock and 20 turkeys are coming this spring. We're currently clearing out and building a manger-like roost for the turkeys. We've got plans to fence the back of the property for all the birds to roam more safely from predators. We're tripling our garden space to add more food, medicinal flowers and herbs. Scrap wood and leftover chicken wire was used to create stalls for compost piles. Then there's the trellis tunnel made of giant tree limbs for the muscadines to grow. A dream like playground for our little boys to hide out and use their imaginations.
We're utilizing everything we can get our hands on. Just last week, we scavenged the old barn being torn down across the road. Finding old farmhouse windows, tobacco sticks, barn doors, bricks and tin roofing. All to be used for endless projects. My husband chainsawed limbs of giant trees, the boys collected the sawdust and I've been collecting ash from a burn pit we share with our neighbors across the way. All things have a use. Most things are free. In the scavenging and scraps, we've found our wealth. Self-sufficiency is upon the horizon. Sovereignty is now in our grasp. Something that once was a hopeful dream is today's abundance. I look back on what it took to get here.
We had to make room. For each dream God laid on our hearts. We had to prepare the way. We had to leave the beautiful custom built home in the suburbs for the old home in the country. My husband had to leave the comfortable job and the coworkers he loved for the opportunity God was leading him to next. We had to say goodbye to family and the best of friends we've ever known to a new community God was calling us to help build. All those times we impatiently waited in our lives. All the deep desires of heart, seeming like they would never happen. Thinking that maybe we were not worthy of such abundance. But it was a gift...
The waiting is the gift. Sometimes things get thrown at us while our season is already full. But sometimes we have time. A lot of time. Not to just wait. But to do in the wait. Time to prepare a way. To make room. To do the work. Clean up. Clear out. And then...watch God fill it all in with abundance. With all the things He laid on our hearts. Until we are left with an overwhelming gratitude that feels as though our souls are imploding with joy. Until we are left with only a Hallelujah.
This reminds me of when Miriam took out her tambourine after the Israelites victoriously crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 15). A friend once pointed out to me this; "She brought her tambourine. She had to flee and couldn't take but what she could carry. And she brought her tambourine..." Ya'll see, Miriam knew she would need it to celebrate her freedom. Her people's victory. Most importantly, she knew she would need her tambourine to praise God. She knew all this in the midst of the waiting and uncertainty. She made room in her go-bag for future joy!
Let's not just wait. But let's do work while we wait. Let's prepare a way for God to do his work. Let's get ready for victory. ❤️
~Casey G.
Owner & Shopkeeper
Comments