Take a look at these sunflowers pictured above. We didn’t plant them. We didn’t buy the seeds and talk through where they’d look best or wait anxiously as they started to sprout. These sunflowers decide to grow themselves. They “grew from nothing” so to speak. Yes, it takes “something” to grow from, in this case it was likely a seed from our bird seed that we spread for the chickens to scratch through. But as the conditions were most likely unfavorable, these sunflowers took it on their own to grow and stand tall for everyone to see.
The same can be said for us and this homestead. We bought this place years before we decided to move out here. More accurately, the decision to move out here was made for us. I had a business venture that experienced a very painful failure and we lost almost everything in the process. We had some of our personal belongings, my truck, and this land. So, without any knowledge of what it actually takes to develop a raw piece of land into a homestead, we quickly learned that we had grossly underestimated the costs as well as the amount of work it required. The early days were extremely rough as we had no running water, no insulation in our cabin as we were still in the process of building it a little at a time, and no real amenities that make a house a home. There were so many painful times where it seemed that we were climbing a mountain that had no peak. Yet we pressed on, little by little, and built what we now call home. Although those times were tough, there are many fond memories sprinkled throughout and it forged us into an unbreakable family unit.
The same goes for present day as we now embark on building this farm. There are lots of tough lessons but also amazing triumphs. As the past has taught us, we are resilient to our very core and, as I said in last week’s newsletter, there is pain in progress. No pain, no reward.
So let this be a motivator to any of you who are looking for something new but hesitate to jump because you lack the knowledge or complete understanding of the dream that calls you. Be the sunflower. Let your roots take hold and grow. Before you know it, you’ll be standing tall for everyone to see.