Our new property is full of possibilities…which will we pursue?
The rain falls in earnest now, and I am snug in our new rental. Twenty-three years in the Pacific Northwest, and I am still not tired of the rain, even if it happens to fall in the summer. Perhaps because it is the sound of many waters, I hear God’s voice in the applause of the storm slapping onto evergreens and rooftops. Creation, indeed, proclaims Him elegantly and sincerely, even as it groans awaiting for His return.
We closed on our new property last week. I laugh, knowing that no one really owns God’s earth, but I am pleased with the opportunity afforded me to steward a small part of it. Five raw acres of timber and possibility, this is a very handsome parcel close to my husband’s work, in the backyard of our closeknit town. Already we know most of our future neighbors, and are delighted with their welcome even as we all grimace knowing the nuisance of construction to come. I will have to bake and frost a lot of chocolate cakes.
It’s been five years since we sold the McMansion and its hobby farm on its own five acres. Truly it was, and is, a blessing to know and rejoice with the current owners in all of the work and love they have poured into our first built home. Now, as we turn to our second blank slate, we desire to repeat what we did well and at the same time decline decisions that did not, and do not, fit our family, our values, and our goals.
But what are those goals now?
It takes some thought to write those down. And, truthfully, if we were already in a home of our own, we might be less inclined to even consider what they might be, because being comfortable where and how we are doesn’t necessarily lead to laboring on anything (be it family life or home life or job life or married life or…) It often takes some rattling around in difficult circumstances to garner enough enthusiasm or motivation to even ask the difficult questions in order to move forward in whatever we say we value most.
We want sweet friendships, but do we take time to cultivate them? We want a strong marriage, but do we do the hard work of service, submission, and forgiveness to have it? We want a happy home, but do we give up the habits, distractions or trinkets that hinder our cultivating it with our presence (both physical and mental) and practical good works? Do we appreciate today, this moment, this space, these people under our noses, this whiff of a vapor of our life, giving gratitude to God for His hand in our lives, for superintending even the events we do not see and may never know, always for our own good? We say we want to honor God, but are we demanding He show up in our own expectations before we’ll even consider bowing the knee?
How do you a build a home, or plan use of a land, to bring Him glory? I don’t rightly know. But this I do know: He leads me, and I hear His voice, and by God’s grace, I follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
It’s going to be an interesting journey, friends, and I could use all of the encouragement I can get. If you sign up for my blog email list (top right of the blog), it’d be so easy for you to shoot me an email back with your response(s) through this upcoming season. I know I’m not the only one in the flock, and I look forward to hearing from you the lessons and blessings you’ve learned while finding and growing your own green pastures as well.
Onward,
I am very curious… as I am a Canadian. Do you have the same rules we have here? We need to put 50% down on bare land.
Is this land different than the previous 5 acres you had? Was that land forested too?
I’m very excited for you. If you can share ideas for how to keep a little one with Down Syndrome safe on an acerage please can you share? Our daughter is almost 8 and I am worried she will come across a bear or cougar, eat a poisonous mushroom , or fall in the creek. Right now we have a city lot but we want property .
In our area, we needed to put down 20% (wowza on how much you would need there!). The land is similar to the last acreage we originally bought in that it is wooded and full of brush, but it seems a little bit easier to “see” the terrain and walk across most of it. With regards to keeping little ones safe, we have used (and use) fencing for small play/garden areas, but ultimately that is too expensive for large areas. With my littles (and even the older with Down syndrome) I use the buddy system and *always* have another child together with her (actually, that is always true indoors as well). Keeping a well-trained livestock guardian dog has been priceless in keeping all of the animals away from our homestead (bear, coyote, deer, fox, etc…), plus he hangs out with the kids as well and barks if anyone comes over. I’m not sure I would change any of that (having a buddy system, and having a dog) even if we lived in the city. The biggest challenge we had when we lived in a town setting was the road! It will be nice to have a lot more space again.