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Friday, November 25, 2011

Just a Small Town Girl

 A small TOWN girl. That's me. Town, as in neighborhoods and gas stations and corner stores, and postage stamp yards. I was not a 15 minutes to Wal Mart kind of girl. So I betcha wonder how I got where I'm at.
 It started out with yet another in a long line of creepy landlords. Add to that climbing rental rates and a housing market that anyone and his good-for-nothing, lazy cousin could get in on and BOOM we were looking for a home to buy. DH was a little reluctant at first but he couldn't argue with the math so I twisted his arm he agreed to let me look for a place. But he had one little stipulation- the house couldn't be in ANY city limits. He was a bona fide country boy who had grudgingly put up with the neighbors, traffic, and noise for years. But if he was gonna plunk down money on something permanent, it. had. to. be. country.    OoooKaaayyyyy
 So I devised a plan. I took myself to the edge of town every day. And then I took a different road and drove until I found the first place for sell. If it looked like the house was suitable for our needs, I would figure out the number of miles it was from town and add it to my list (looking for the one with the shortest distance.)
 That is how I got here. But just living in the country does not make one a country girl. No. For years after taking the homeowner plunge, I would make 2 or more trips to town a day. Sometimes I would go just to be going, 'cause you know, Starbucks might go out of business without me or there might be a bogo at the shoe store. The amount of gas I was using never even crossed my mind. On top of that, I had no desire to make any kind of purposeful use of the land we bought. One acre or one hundred, it made no difference, it was just that much more we had to mow. I was here but I wasn't embracing the lifestyle or even really seeing what God had given us.
 Today I've been reading the book of Esther. And one part of her story that resonates with me is when her uncle says to her "...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" She didn't want to face that king but she did it for her people's sake saying, "...and if I perish, I perish." (from Esther 4: 14, 16)  I didn't want to live in the country at first and I can't honestly say I always love it now. But, as I look back, I can see how God has used this place to teach me so many things. And I'm looking forward to what He has in store for us!
 Tomorrow will be our first time to send some chickens to freezer camp. It's one of the things we've been planning for months but I'm a little nervous. Ok, I'm a lot nervous. I'll let you know how it goes.