Big Dreams of a Tiny Farm

Have you ever had a dream?  A big dream that you prayed, plotted and planned for long before you knew if you could make it happen?  I did.  This family of mine on a little slice of farm heaven, that was my big dream.  So what happens when you get there and it's harder than you imagined? 

I had BIG ideas about how life on the farm would go.  The barn would be beautiful.  The milk would be sweet.  The children, who would be grateful for a life that most kids dream of, would joyfully do real farm chores and learn the value of hard work.  We would enjoy working the land together for real food.  We would make soap, can veggies and bake bread.  When boredom set in we would choose educational books to entertain ourselves.  Life would be slower and more peaceful.  We would all appreciate the finer things in life.

The reality?  Their are lots of tears.  That dream of the picturesque farm in the distance that I had...well, up close it's dusty, muddy and quite stinky.  There are bugs; many, many kinds of bugs.  Farm life is difficult, folks.  A life in the quiet of the country can be peaceful but also chaotic, painful and often lonely.  Those farm chores?  They. never. end.  And it is really, really hard to keep a good attitude in the freezing cold.  Weeds grow much faster than vegetables.  Animals, the ones that you toil beside, nurture and love; sometimes they die.   Did I even mention how expensive this all is?

So what do you do?  When you finally get there and it seems so hard?  Do you reassess and change your plans?  Do you throw in the towel?  You can...the thought has certainly crossed my mind.  I think it can be perfectly justifiable to try something else.  For us though it boils down to our big picture.  Are we honoring God, can we serve Him here and are our original goals still the same? To these questions, the answer is yes. 

Those rosy pictures in my mind have been shattered, it's true, but among the broken pieces I've found unexpected blessings.  Our family is tough, creative and resourceful.  The kids blow my mind with their ability to think outside the box! The children and the animals do not expect everything to be bright, shiny and new.  (My whole family seems to get this but me--I like shiny things and I blame the city).  We have the space to fail and keep trying without worrying about who's watching.  We even bake bread sometimes.  We can step outside at any moment in our day and breath in the Lord. 

I could go on and on but it all boils down to this...to live out our dreams we must keep our goals at the front of our minds.  We must live with gratitude and "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ".  2. Corinthians. 10:5  With eyes wide open to gifts that he gives along the way me must persevere.

So keep dreaming, my friends, but when times get tough don't stop.  Persevere, look for blessings and watch the Lord meet you in ways you never even expected!