Brief Update, July 2023

It’s official. I’m THE WORST at giving updates. In the coming days, I will make every effort to add content to this blog. Life has gotten the better of me this year; there has been so much happening, both good and not so good.

Let me start by saying that I will be back to posting about Homestead life soon. However, it is prime garden season and therefore preserving season, we have many animals set to go to freezer camp between now and October, and our lives have taken many unexpected turns in recent months.

In March, I lost my father to a massive stroke. Those of you that know our family are aware that my dad was my best friend and biggest cheerleader. His untimely death crushed me in ways that I can’t even describe. While I was still deep in the throws of grief, my husband’s father also suffered a stroke; this sent even deeper shockwaves through our family. He is making a good recovery, for which we are very grateful.

On top of all the changes and trials, we have made a decision to pull our kids from our local public school and become homeschoolers. This is uncharted territory and brings with it another level of uncertainty. However, after much discussion and prayer we are confident that this is the right decision for our family. I’m looking forward to all that this new adventure will bring; while it will add considerably to my daily work load, the rewards will be totally worth it! (I won’t get into a dissertation at this time about recent changes to Ohio law and how the already troubled public education system is affected, you can research that on your own if you feel the need.) I never imagined in a million years that our journey would take this turn, but I’m ecstatic about it.

Sometimes God surprises us with twists and turns in the road that, at the time, we don’t see any way to navigate. As a gift from my husband years ago, I received a wall hanging with a saying that begins “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God will not keep you…” those words have never rang more true than now.

Sorry this isn’t the typical farm-related post. I WILL get back to that when I have a few spare minutes. In the meantime, you readers deserve to have a little view into what our lives have been like in the past few months and to understand why I have been largely absent online.

My words of advice to anyone reading this post (all 5 of you) are to make sure that the ones you care about know exactly how you feel towards them. Call your mom, your dad, your estranged family member that you used to be so close with. Don’t text them or FB message them. Call them and let them hear your voice. Or better yet, go pay them a visit and hug their neck. Make amends if amends need to be made. We have no promise of tomorrow. But if tomorrow should come, embrace it with a heart full of gratitude; thank your maker for another chance to love and be loved, another day to share the good news with others, another day closer to being reunited with those that have gone on before. We have so much to be thankful for, even when the days are hard and the nights are long. Joy comes in the morning.