"It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed towards “having” rather than “being,” and which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself."
~Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus
We are living on less that 1/5 acre right smack in the middle of town, but we want to farm! We want our children to be free to climb trees and have sword (stick) fights without anyone thinking them unruly. We want our children to experience the great gifts of life and death without the filter of the modern world. These are our wants, but they are not simply the little things we want because we want them and we want them now. They are the desires of our heart because we feel this how God is calling our family closer to Him. We are all meant to serve Him in the way He sees fit, but as a wise friend once explained to me, we pray and submit to His Will, and pray more, and are humbled, and pray to to know His will for us. And then, at some point, God turns it around and whispers to our hearts, "My child, what do YOU want?" And then we stand aghast because we have, for so long, worked to let go of our own will that we don't know what we want anymore!
As our family has grown by the grace of God and in the Grace of God, we have realized that the desire of our heart is to be in the country, serving God and being stewards of His earth. So, though we are not in the country now, we are doing all that is possible for us to learn how to take care of the plants and animals that have been entrusted to us. We do want more, but for a higher purpose than simply "having more." We want to "be" more and enjoy this journey toward Heaven with our children and hopefully take the most direct path. We feel this is the path to which our family is called.
So, As in the mosaic of the vines coming from the Cross, we hope to be rooted in the Cross of Christ and allow His Graces and Mercies to flow through our blossoming family. Our constant prayer is get onto a farm someday soon. Would you help us by praying for this intention? Thank you! Until that prayer is answered, we will continue to "grow where we are planted" though it may be a few little garden plots. We pray our time in town has been worthwhile and we have, thus far, served Our Lord well with what we have been given.
May YOU bloom where you are planted.
May all your seeds sprout.
May all our seedlings grow with gusto.
May the sun warm and nourish you and yours, and when the rains come, may they fall gently.
May the deer leave your plants in peace to search out the living waters, and may your follow them, so that your soul may drink deeply, and be satisfied.
