Peaches and Cream

Peaches and Cream. Is that what you think homesteading is like? All sunshine and buzzing bees, the gently blowing breeze on your cheek as you gaze over your tidy homestead?

The reality is often much harsher than that. Winds gusting to 50 mph, hawks hunting your birds, water lines freezing, wells going dry and the winter garden shriveling in the fall drought.

It has been a rough fall her at HoW. I have not been in much of a frame of mind to find the humor in it all. Frankly, there has not been much to laugh about. But today I am reminded that it is in the tough times that we are shaped and molded. As a mountain before the wind or the soil at the edge of a raging river, we must all give way. We must all surrender to the shaping. We must; for if we do not, then we will be lost.

first winter snow on the homestead

Here are the things that I know to be true:

God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good.

I have an amazing family. My family of birth, the family I have made with my husband, the family of sisters that God has given me, and my LHG family.

God's provision is always timely.

The sun always comes out again. Always.

Water freezes. Water thaws. Be prepared for both.

The propane will run out at 5 am when it is 12 degrees outside. Check your tank before you go to bed!

Chicken Math never works. Do it for love, not for money.

You can cry or you can laugh. Choose laughter.

When you find yourself stuck in the mud, unable to look up, remember that you are under the power line the birds like to sit on and get outta there! :-)

When all else fails, rejoice! You can find something, even if it is the tiniest thing. So do it.  Maybe this needs to move up to number 2, instead of being at the end.

What's going on in your piece of the universe?