Sisyphus Acres

My Family's Agrarian Vision

Carla, from the Simple Life, suggested we put pen to paper and write an Agrarian Vision for ourselves and our families, I took the challenge, and I thought I'd share it with you...

Our family Agrarian vision began the same as any other agrarian venture ~ we tilled the soil ~ digging up all of the weeds, plowing them under, getting rid of the stuff that would choke out the tender seedlings.

Some would say I had it all: I was married, I had good savings, I owned my own business…but I was dying.  The marriage failed, the business failed, the money was gone ~ I had a beautiful daughter, and still I was dying.  I rebuilt my life, restored my credit, got a better job, made a decent income, had great friends, plenty to do and a loving church family ~ and yet still, I was dying.  I lived beyond my means, spent so much time “doing” that I spent little time “being” ~ I truly was dying.  The weeds were choking me, I withered, and so did my daughter Hannah.

Luke 8:14-16 (New International Version)

14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

We needed to build up the soil ~ in utter exhaustion we fell on our knees and begged the Lord for an answer, asked Him to place us where He wanted us ~ He filled our hearts with His mercy, grace and love.  He blessed us with the nutrients we needed through His Word.

In The Word, we became fertile ground.

The Lord made our rows straight for us, placed in directions we’d never imagined   Planting this garden wasn’t going to be easy, but the Lord is a patient gardener.

We then became the seed, that’s every gardener’s leap of faith ~ the seed ~ when to plant, where to plant, how much water, how much sun?  Will it grow well?  Will I get a good yield?  What if it doesn’t grow at all?  The Lord sure took a chance on us.

We prayed and prayed, and were planted far north in a rural farming community, an idyllic setting ~ quite a leap of faith it was for us ~ it meant leaving my job, leaving our friends, leaving our church family, leaving our life and rooting ourselves elsewhere. 

As tender seedlings we broke above the soil…

And the rains came ~ living outside of my means really caught up with me with the job change/pay cut this move meant, it meant confronting the fact that I had not been a good steward of what the Lord had given me to manage.  And as I stood tender in the mud that I had created, somehow still the rain washed me clean.

Deuteronomy 32:2

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

The sun (Son) arose and the warmth and grace filled us with Life and made us bloom where we were planted.  Our garden design continues to grow each and every day.

Hannah and I regularly discuss what we want to do here, and how we should go about it.

I now realize that living within our means, without credit debt hanging over our heads is the best thing for us, and is a peace God has planned for everyone  ~ and teach Hannah this every day.  Hannah and I have rediscovered the natural beauty the Lord provides us, and that we have to be proper stewards of that landscape ~ and so we are using less pre-packaged foods, we are using cloth napkins to conserve waste, exploring energy conservation and alternative energy generation, we are doing the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle ~ or do without).  We have come to understand that in order to be good stewards and good witnesses we need to be healthy, physically and spiritually ~ we are developing a more natural diet, being very careful of what we place in our bodies, both in food and media. 

We are also growing and preserving our own foods ~ and trying whenever possibly to buy what we don’t raise locally to support others in their vision, to grow our community, and to live as God designed.  We have rediscovered community and true friendship ~ we no longer have to be “doing” something with our friends; we can just go and “be” with them.

Our vision has not only manifested itself in the spiritual changes we have experienced ~ there has been a very real physical transformation for us as well.

We have transformed our “plot” from a vacant brush-covered field, to a lovely maintained acreage, where we are planting “edible landscaping”, nurturing vegetable and herb gardens, and developing fruit orchards.  We are maintaining these plants organically as stewards of this earth we’ve been given.  We continue to explore new ways to provide for ourselves on this property, how to help our neighbors do the same, and how to support our community in its conservation goals for the future.  We have become much more aware of the waste that we generate and try to reduce that as much as possible.  We conserve resources as well, from increasing fuel efficiency in our home, to collecting rainwater to use in the gardens, and exploring alternative energy.

Our Family vision is a garden, a garden of hope for the future ~ rooted in the Word, sown and nurtured through hard work, awareness and planning, growing each day in knowledge, strength and love ~ and at harvest-time to be made useful to each other and every person we meet on our path. Our path, the road less traveled.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

                                   -Robert Frost

A View From God's Country

I am ready to get my hands in the dirt and start my garden againÂ…

As I try to coax new life from the cold and frozen ground, the icy grip of winter releasing, I take pause to reflect on the promise of spring, on renewal and rebirth ~ the tremendous blessing of the Easter miracle.

This is the time of year that planning begins for the garden.  I have spent January and February poring over seed catalogs, looking for just the right varieties ~ seeds that will do well in a cold weather climate, organically raised, non-hybrids so that I can try my hand at saving seed this year.  It is yet another step in our journey toward better stewardship.

The Lord has blessed us with our family and friends, placed us in the beautiful country, and provided us the physical things we have.  WeÂ’ve been blessed with good soil here, and it would be a waste not to be diligent stewards of this blessing.

I have to admit, I have not always been a good steward of the LordÂ’s blessings, in fact, at times I have taken blessings for granted, misused them, squandered them.  Not any moreÂ…

I have learned about being a good steward through my work in the garden.

Gardening teaches the value of diligent stewardship, and the consequences of poor stewardship.  For a garden to be successful, you must plan it carefully.  The soil needs to be prepared, turned, fertilized, and worked to receive the seed.  You need to plant good strong seed, acclimated to your location and growing season, and sowed properly.  Your garden needs to be provided enough sunshine and water.  Weeding (need I say more?).  Thinning. Staking. Pest control (organic of course).

Now itÂ’s July, and the beach beckons ~ you take off for a weekÂ…or twoÂ…

What you return to could be a disaster. 

This same fate befalls our spiritual life when we ignore stewardship.  Stewardship is a matter of obedience to the Lord, a matter of Him entrusting blessings to us in expectation that we will increase them to His glory and honor.  As illustrated by Christ in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we are expected to constantly work with and improve upon the gifts God has given us.

Stewardship is not about money; it is about blessings.  It is about paying them forward, increasing the value of your blessings by using them to their fullest for the glory of the Kingdom.

Stewardship is not an idea ~ it is an action.  It doesnÂ’t have to be a drastic action ~ baby steps work.  Stewardship is a journey; each time you take a step toward simplifying your lives you take a step forward.  Each time you step away from the TV to spend time with your children ~ it is a step forward.  Each time you tithe what you should you take a step forward.  Each time you help a neighbor, or a stranger for that matter, you take a step forward. 

Each step forward reveals a gift, be it a less stressful life, a better relationship with your child, a new capacity to help others ~ each gift is a testament to the goodness of our Lord, a new blessing, meant to be worked with and improved upon for His glory. 

Each time my spade hits the dirt, each time I plant a seed, each time I am able to bless my neighbor with bounty from my garden, I take a step forward.  A gift. A step. The path. My journey.