True Treasure - A Lesson from the Farm

Yesterday was an amazing day of commerce around here.  We are about to start on another summer of hay, but it's hard to load the barn with hay if you still have hay from the year before that you haven't sold.  My husband called our Florida connection and within minutes he said he'd be sending out a truck to our farm to pick up a load.  This company takes hay to Florida for horses down there and then bring back tropical plants.  Cool idea and we get to be one of the suppliers to the fancy horses down south.  Normally that's no big deal, except when you don't have help!  My oldest sons would all be there, but they'd be loading hay after a long day at work and school and they didn't know at the time they'd be up till 11 doing it!  My younger sons both had near misses this week and nearly broke their wrists doing what boys do, bike tricks and monkey bars.  I've thanked God so many times for protecting them.  I joke with them all the time, "I won't drive you to the hospital if you break your wrist.  I'll be too mad!"  Yet, despite the sore wrist, the 8 year old threw down 300 bales on his own.  We sent him in half way through so he wouldn't over do it, though it's hard to imagine him ever over doing it.  That's what he lives for!  He is so strong I can hardly believe it.  Only one of my daughters was going to be around.....so, to my shock, I ended up being involved.  I hadn't loaded a trailer before.  It's quite something when a HUGE semi-trailer pulls up on your property.  But I put on my big girl pants and decided I would do it.  All I have to say is, I appreciate all the times I HAVEN'T done hay before.  My body woke me up so many times last time because of the aching I had from lifting over 500 bales of hay.  I'm impressed how my kids have done it all these years.....

Earlier on in the week we'd given my son the chance to make some money on the side.  If he listed and sold our old dryer online, he could have the money.  He ran and took pictures and listed it within minutes.  It didn't sell right away, but yesterday, just before they hay load left, someone came and picked it up.  $60 for him!  He was pretty pleased!

Meanwhile the kitten was still listed as well.  While we were loading the hay, someone came and picked up the kitten, too - more cash in hand for the kids!  When I asked my 12 year old if he'd had a good day, he said, "Yes!  We sold the dryer, the kitten and the hay, all in one day!  It was a great day!"  I loved how so many things came together on the same day.

Last night I was struck by the awesome view behind our barn.  Back in the day when they first built houses and barns, it was all done in a way to make the most of the space and the ease of the farmer, I guess.  Keep the barn close to the house?  Not sure.  I don't think they ever thought of the view.  When I looked out over the pond from the back of the truck, I realized our house should be where the barn is and the barn should be where our house is!  Our view is great now, but it would be spectacular if I could somehow switch spots.  However, that is not the case, but I was still able to enjoy the view.  And while I stood there, it helped put things into perspective again.  My mind is often, sadly, consumed by what isn't finished in our home, what is broken, what needs fixing....Perhaps that is because it is around me all day long...the unfinished flooring, the peeling paint, the smelly basement.....but last night as I stood there with the kids all around me, cheering me on (old lady helping with hay....they loved that), and then I saw the view, and then I watched all the commerce going on around me, from the selling of hay, to dryers, to kittens, I was immediately reminded of all the blessings I have.  It was amazing.  I have my health, so do they.  We have the land to produce the hay, the animals to produce the kittens (3 more pregnant ones coming up!), the new dryer in the house allowing us to sell the old one, an amazing family economy and the relationships that come with that, a husband who knows how to somehow coordinate all that we are doing.....I am so ashamed that I get so caught up in the things of this world when I really stop and think about how those things don't matter.  Before we loaded the trailer, we went around discussing the verse, "Where your treasure lies, your heart will be also" and we discussed what we all thought our "treasure" was.  I admitted it was my house.  It's not that all my money goes there.  No, I wish!  It's that I wish all our money could go there!  You know what your treasure is based on not just how much you spend on things, but on how much you think about things.  If I had a "thought bank statement", it would be embarrassing to admit how many thoughts go towards my house and not because I walk around in pride, though I do love my house, no, it's more of a pathetic sadness (read: discontentment), wishing I had this done, wishing I had that done......yeah, my treasure is obvious.  It was a good wake up call to be reminded of my true treasure - things with skin on, my husband, my kids, our relationships, the intangible blessings of hard work and also the tangible ones such as the money made yesterday.  Wow - what a great day when I think about that.

I thank God for the hard work He's given us through the farm.  It is teaching all of us so much.  On Father's Day when we went around and prayed for RM, one of the kids prayed thanking God for RM and how he had a vision to get us here and how much they love living here.  I am so grateful, too.  I'm also so thankful for how God is allowing us to use the farm to not just teach us valuable lessons in diligence, etc., but in how He's allowing us to use the farm to literally provide for us.  From the smallest cuddly kitten, to the grapes and hay, it is a real working farm and I can hardly believe it.  I often think back ten years ago to what I was doing in June - uh, nothing?  Ok, I was going on walks to the park and the library and visiting friends and going on playdates and cleaning my house and grocery shopping, but that was pretty much it.  My younger kids are going to be having a very different experience than the older set.  I am having a very different experience the second time around with these kids!  I am a completely different person.  I don't even know what has happened to the other mom I was.   It's book worthy, I'm telling you.  This morning my old house is exactly the same, but I hope I am not.  I hope I can remember that view I saw last night and the feeling I had as I stood beside my kids taking in the eternal moment.  It is very quiet in this house this morning.  I don't think I'll see anyone for awhile.  I'm grateful for that, too.  They're sleeping because of the hard work they put in late into the night.  Talk about being troopers.  Shockingly, I'm not in too much pain this morning.  Perhaps the pruning prepped me for the hay.  Who needs a gym........