Some may wonder why our hearts are so drawn to Iowa. What is the big deal about corn fields and pigs anyway? In the physical realm, your question is most validated. However, in the spiritual realm, Iowa was an oasis that God chose to give to us following some difficult years of living and walking life through a desert. (I will share more about the desert life later on in blog life.)
Have you ever felt like you live
something similar to the “life of Job” and just need a new start?
A refreshing rain? We did. Joy came after mourning...much
mourning. We were living in Illinois – my husband born and raised
there/myself born in Iowa, only living there a year or so, then
moving to IL. For almost 40 years, our lives were spent in IL.
There were good times and bad times those years, but the latter of
those were full of suffering and God was good.
Long story short – we made some
wonderful friends that I still talk with today. One of those friends
gave me something...the homesteading bug! It was 2006, and we met a
family that lived on a farm. And I, being the Laura Ingalls fanatic
that I am, watched them live life the way I had always dreamed of but
had no idea how. Over the course of the friendship, I saw
horses/pigs/sheep/goats being cared for; garden planted, harvested,
and preserved; sewing; baking; hospitality; the love of learning;
ministry; a strong faith in God accompanied with positive attitudes;
and family unity and vision. AND I WANTED THAT!
God provided a job opportunity for my
husband in Iowa, so in March of 2009, we loaded up the moving truck
and began a new chapter in our life. Another long story short –
God blessed us with a 50 acre farm which included barns, pasture,
tillable land, 38 acres of timber and a river running the back of the
property. It was truly a miracle!
Oh, the stories I have to share with
you sometime. Any readers old enough to remember the show “Green
Acres”? Ummm....that was us. Luckily, we met our 80 year old
neighbors down the hill, whom we later adopted into our family. They
taught us how to live farm life and was it ever good! Within 2
years, we had a garden growing both seasons; harvested fruit from our
trees/grapevine; acquired chickens, 1 horse, 4 pigs (two died
prematurely because we were....well...newbies, so we bought two more.
And boy did they taste yummy!), our dairy cow, Annie, lots of cats,
and Lily, our Australian Shepherd farm dog; hunted the property;
worked on the house; rescued an abandoned deer; killed coons trying
to get in the hen house...well, you get the idea.
Our family learned that living a simple
life is not...simple. It is hard work. It takes family unity and
vision. It takes faith. Those few years were the best years of my
life. We endured the hot/humid Iowa summers in the garden. We
learned that when you have livestock you will have deadstock. We saw
the cycle of life throughout all of nature. We saw the importance of
loving your neighbor, literally. We worked hard, physical labor, got
dirty, and wiped the sweat off our brow. We were happy. We were
healthy. We smiled a lot more.
Then, in a quick turn of events we had
to sell the farm in 2011. Three months later, we moved to Tennessee.
And in August of 2013 – we moved back to our earthly
home...Iowa. And the farm adventures begin anew :-)
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