Wednesday, August 20, 2008
What drives you? Could you do it alone?
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This struck me as I read it.... The thought occurred to me this evening, as I was doing evening chores: a woman completely alone on the homestead: Would I still want to do this if it were only me here? David is in the city working to provide the monetary means we need to be debt free, as we believe God has ordained (him to provide, us to be debt free.) My daughter, her husband and the grandchildren are in Texas tending to a family emergency. I have a rare opportunity to reflect completely alone this evening. Would I pursue this life alone? Without a doubt, yes. Could I have done alone what David and I have done together? Absolutely not. Would I hunger for Christian community and fellowship? Certainly. But in the end, if it all boiled down to just me, staying here instead of "moving to town and getting on cable" as we joke, would I stay? No matter where you are on the journey, how do you feel about this life? Would you do it alone? It matters. This will be me in a mere handful of days if The Lord continues to move the direction He is thus far. Dewey will be on the other job and I will be here, tending the needs of our homestead, with the children, alone. Alone. Of course, with 8 children I'm hardly alone in the true sense of the word. And being a blood-bought Christian, I am truly never alone in any sense of the word. But, still...for all practicality, I will be homesteading alone. Can I do it? Do I really want to do it? I feel strongly, as the blogger in the note above does, that the answer is yes. A loud, resounding yes yes yes. I don't relish the idea of being away from my husband. We don't do separation very well, either of us. Until moving South, we had never been apart more than a night here or there with my being in the hospital with a new little one. Once, the children and I went up north to tend a friend's homestead while they went on vacation (it was our only vacation time), and it was 4 days to the end of the week when Dewey could join us. Aside from that, we don't do separation...so, can I do this? We're talking a bit more than a handful of days here; it will be 12-18 months, with some visits tucked in here and there for family time. I am a family person. Dewey is a family person. He isn't the sort of Dad to look for jobs away from home, though his hours often keep him from home longer than we prefer. But this time, this job, we truly and deeply feel is where The Lord is directing our path. He brought the job to us, we did not seek it out. He brought the possibility of being debt-free to us again...in reality, He always had the plan for us to be debt-free, we just got in His Way and mucked it all up. silly, fleshy human nature. Would I be living in the sticks of north Mississippi, on just under 20 acres, with 8 children at home, homeshooling and homesteading all on my own for any other reason? The short answer...yes. Well, honestly, if I had my druthers, I'd have picked out some quiet northern landscape in the beyond rural boonies for my homestead, but The Lord put us here and who am I to judge His Wisdom? But, yes, I would be here on the rural homestead. I have never been very 'city-minded' at all. Ok, I did have a stint in high school where I just knew my life would be all dance classes and warehouse apartment living in the heart of New York City. It was where my very heart and soul was. And look at me now...no more leg warmers and toe shoes...it's all cape dresses and headcoverings, living in the rural mountains of the South, working toward a self-sustaining lifestyle...with 8 children! Yes, there is probably much you would never guess about my history, heh? I believe The Lord is calling, has called, His Children to the heart of the country. Cities just aren't where it's all these days. There is something in the land that brings you closer to The Lord and His Heart. I can't explain it, but nuts and bolts is plain...you can't live a quiet life, a simple life, amid the noise and get-up-and-go attitude of the city they way you can in the ruralness of the country. It's a slower pace out here and you really can't speed it up. God made it that way, I believe. Out here, the more basic and simple you live, the more you don't have to strain to heat that still, small voice of God. It's pretty loud and forthcoming out here....there isn't the background noises of the hubbub to drown it out. I don't know. Maybe some will think I'm trying to make excuses and rationalize out our decision to divide the family into 2 states for a while. I don't think I'm doing that, but I will consider it. I do tend to rationalize things beyond the point of common sense at times (hush up!). The Lord wants us to be debt-free... debt-free to the world, anyway. This job is the fastest method to reaching that goal short of Publishers Clearing House sending me that check. It is God-directed and we believe that in our hearts or we wouldn't be entertaining the plan for a single moment. Things are moving fast in our country these days. Prices on everything are increasing, with a handful of bones tossed our way with price cuts here and there to give us some sense of security. I don't buy it. These bits and snatches of price cuts are mere propoganda as far as I'm concerned. The Lord wants us debt free and living with a back to basics heart and mind-set. I'm not there yet, but I try to make steps in that direction without slipping backwards too often. Are you serious about your homestead journey? Are you deeply rooted in the reasons that moved you to your homestead? What truly drives you....be honest....what drives you to your homestead? What goals do you have and what plans do you have to reach them? How far are you willing to go on your homestead? Is it just a hobby homestead for you or are you truly reaching out for a deeper lifestyle, a closer family lifestyle and a simple living lifestyle? How connected to the world around you are you? How much of that world around you are you willing to put aside in order to reach the goals you have? Think about it. Alot of folks claim homesteading as their lifestyle, but as it means so many different things to so many people, you have to decide your definition on your own. For us, it means rural and disconnected from the world we are living in. That is what we work towards. For us, it means growing toward self-sufficiency on our own land and God-reliance in the areas we cannot provide for ourselves. How connected am I to the world -- well, I'm sitting here on the computer so that gives you some idea right there. I'm working on that 'connection' to the world though every day. It's engrained in me, so it's not an easy break, but I do believe The Lord can do much more with me if I make that break, so I work on it. How about you? http://tabletophomestead.blogspot.com/2007/09/7-year-itch.html |
Thoughts
