Life is never quite what i expect it to be.
Life is hard.
We have been looking for a place to live, a farmstead, in Maryland for a number of months now.
In July we found a great place.
It was close to my husband's job, a price we could afford, had a neat old farm house with enough bedrooms...
The land was beautiful and green with a spring running through the property. There were about 100 acres of farmland that surrounded it, with about 5 acres available to the renters with a barn.
There were apple, pear, and nut trees flourishing by the spring.
But, we were one of over 20 applicants!
I couldn't believe it. Are there really that many of us looking for little homesteads.
So, i talked to someone with the University of Maryland Extension Office. Apparently, there has been droughts out west resulting in increased demand, and profitability, of produce and wheat from farmers here on the east coast. He told me that land is going quickly, and at higher prices every year.
We have been unable to find a place to live that we can afford, and are not likely to be able to any time in the near future.
In July 2014 we were presented with the opportunity to go west and stay with family while we try to get our feet under us and establish a life out there.
Without a job.
But, if we stay here we'll sink all of our savings moving into a place we don't want to live and will be trapped.
So, i prayed about it, and talked to my husband.
I had the overwhelming impression that it was time for my family to go west.
It is hard to describe the way i feel about it.
There is the rational part of my brain that list all the things that can go wrong, and all the potential problems.
I feel the weight and stress of what this leap of faith could mean to my family.
At the same time i feel this gentle strength holding me up, and whispering peace.
That is not to say that it does not worry me.
We are leaving my husband's job. While it is not the best paying job my husband has had, it is a good solid job that i am extremely thankful for in a way that has been magnified by the experience of him being without work.
So, a few weeks ago, i was starting to feel the weight of the challenges that are coming.
I was having a very hard time making it to church. My boys weren't feeling the greatest, the rabbits needed extra care, and one escaped from her cage, my boy had a hole in his pants, bathroom was not working...
I felt that i needed to be there. i needed strength.
I was late, but i made it.
At the beginning of Relief Society, which is our meeting for the sisters of our church, i had the sudden, not to be ignored, inspiration that the opening song was for me, and I needed to listen, now.
i felt this quiet surround me, and the noise of the room fell back.
My heart quickened as i could feel the spirit testify that this was a message for me.
"Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day."
i was filled with a sense of being understood, encouraged, uplifted, strengthened, supported
this huge ball of energy exploded inside of me as the song continued.
"We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,"
My heartbeat quickened.
I am meant to go west, and to find a place, my place.
the truth of these words filled me
I do not know what my journey has to entail, or what trials i will face as i continue to go forward.
i do know that what i face is not nearly as hard as what the Mormon Pioneers faced as they traveled by wagon from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City. That is when this song, Come, Come, Ye Saints, was written.
If they could do that, then i can do this.
i look forward to seeing where this path will take my family.
We are almost completely packed.
My To-Do list is daunting.
But, i know that it will work out.
This is going to be amazing.
Life is hard.
We have been looking for a place to live, a farmstead, in Maryland for a number of months now.
In July we found a great place.
It was close to my husband's job, a price we could afford, had a neat old farm house with enough bedrooms...
The land was beautiful and green with a spring running through the property. There were about 100 acres of farmland that surrounded it, with about 5 acres available to the renters with a barn.
There were apple, pear, and nut trees flourishing by the spring.
But, we were one of over 20 applicants!
I couldn't believe it. Are there really that many of us looking for little homesteads.
So, i talked to someone with the University of Maryland Extension Office. Apparently, there has been droughts out west resulting in increased demand, and profitability, of produce and wheat from farmers here on the east coast. He told me that land is going quickly, and at higher prices every year.
We have been unable to find a place to live that we can afford, and are not likely to be able to any time in the near future.
In July 2014 we were presented with the opportunity to go west and stay with family while we try to get our feet under us and establish a life out there.
Without a job.
But, if we stay here we'll sink all of our savings moving into a place we don't want to live and will be trapped.
So, i prayed about it, and talked to my husband.
I had the overwhelming impression that it was time for my family to go west.
It is hard to describe the way i feel about it.
There is the rational part of my brain that list all the things that can go wrong, and all the potential problems.
I feel the weight and stress of what this leap of faith could mean to my family.
At the same time i feel this gentle strength holding me up, and whispering peace.
That is not to say that it does not worry me.
We are leaving my husband's job. While it is not the best paying job my husband has had, it is a good solid job that i am extremely thankful for in a way that has been magnified by the experience of him being without work.
So, a few weeks ago, i was starting to feel the weight of the challenges that are coming.
I was having a very hard time making it to church. My boys weren't feeling the greatest, the rabbits needed extra care, and one escaped from her cage, my boy had a hole in his pants, bathroom was not working...
I felt that i needed to be there. i needed strength.
I was late, but i made it.
At the beginning of Relief Society, which is our meeting for the sisters of our church, i had the sudden, not to be ignored, inspiration that the opening song was for me, and I needed to listen, now.
i felt this quiet surround me, and the noise of the room fell back.
My heart quickened as i could feel the spirit testify that this was a message for me.
"Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day."
i was filled with a sense of being understood, encouraged, uplifted, strengthened, supported
this huge ball of energy exploded inside of me as the song continued.
"We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,"
My heartbeat quickened.
I am meant to go west, and to find a place, my place.
the truth of these words filled me
I do not know what my journey has to entail, or what trials i will face as i continue to go forward.
i do know that what i face is not nearly as hard as what the Mormon Pioneers faced as they traveled by wagon from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City. That is when this song, Come, Come, Ye Saints, was written.
If they could do that, then i can do this.
i look forward to seeing where this path will take my family.
We are almost completely packed.
My To-Do list is daunting.
But, i know that it will work out.
This is going to be amazing.