Dreaming...

It's funny how life takes you on interesting twists & turns that you never imagined would occur. 3 years ago I was happily living in the suburbs of a major city. We had family nearby & friends just everywhere & every time you went shopping you'd be guaranteed to bump into someone you knew at some point in your childhood.

Well 2 years ago that all changed....

It's hard to believe that I've been a " country gal" for two years already. Sometimes it feels like it's been just a couple of months & other times it feels like a lifetime.

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of living in the country. I remember whenever we went on road trips to visit relatives that were scattered up & down the east coast of Australia, I always would day dream about country life & what it would be like to live where you don't have neighbours watching your every move - where the people are friendly (if not a little nosy) & where the air is definitely more pure. The charmed country life appealed. Maybe it's because until I was 10 I grew up in Mt Isa - a mining town in western Qld. I really didn't want to move & will admit it took me years to adjust to big city life. When I attended university in the middle of a capital city, I hated it. All the hustle & bustle & busyness was not for me. (I did enjoy my course however).

So why am I writing all this? Well for two reasons - one - we have lived just over 2 years here at Sunnyside now & two - Dave & I were discussing our life here & truthfully - we like it here - it feels like home & we are sure this is exactly where God wants us at this point in our lives.

Farming is downright hard work & I'm not going to lie - it's really expensive - just add an extra 0 to the price of what you think it might cost. It's been difficult juggling farm & work for Dave - at times he's really busy & all his holidays (except those he's made to take in Jan) are taken up with farm work. Gardening has been challenging - learning about what grows in a new soil type & climate - trust me I think more has died than lived that I've planted.... but still I persist. We've lost pets to bullets (for attacking sheep), snake bites, spider bites, foxes etc. We've had 2 years of drought - crops have been thin & dams empty.

But even after all that, it really is a wonderful life. We get to walk out each day (or just glance out the window) & appreciate the beauty of God's creation. We do have cleaner, fresher air. We rely on God directly for water. The sky is such a beautiful ever-changing canvas that stretches on forever & the feel of earth freshly ploughed on bare feet is delightful. The community we live in has accepted us (even though we are weird & home school) - we really feel like an important part of our little country church - where we have made wonderful friends & been blessed with solid bible based teaching.

I guess I'm writing all this because I want to encourage you to follow your dreams. I believe God often gives you these dreams - maybe because that's exactly where he wants you at some point in your life. No it won't be easy - in fact at times it would be all to easy to pack up & run back to normality - but if you rely on God to get you through each & every day you'll find there become more good days than bad & at some point (it may take a couple of years) you're going to say "Hey, I really like it here".

Dare to dream & pray about God's will.... you never know what adventure He may lead you on next!

May God bless you,

Renata :)