A few years ago, my father caught a vision for taking dominion of the creation by learning how to live a more rural lifestyle.
The problem was we lived in suburbia. So, we decided to work with what we had.
Instead of impractical green grass, woodchips, and shrubs, we began to recreate the landscape on our ¼ acre to include a large vegetable and herb garden. Our first animals to get were two rabbits. They provided great fun and good composting manure until one day we didn’t close the cage properly and they escaped. That was the end of our rabbits.
Next we went to the feed store and bought six fluffy chicks-one for each in the family. Not long after we had brought them home we became the neighborhood petting zoo. It started with letting one child hold the birds, and he told his friends, and they told their friends...and you get the point.
But our real goal was to have some land where we could raise as many animals as we liked. After two stressful moves within five months of each other and a providential set of events, we finely found a homestead that fit us perfectly. We had waited for this for years! Jumping right in, and before we had even unpacked the house, we started working on the garden and orchard.
First, we constructed a seven foot tall fence out of landscaping timbers to keep out the deer. We then wrapped a hodgepodge of fencing around to help with the rabbits. In his excitement to get started, my dad bought twenty-four fruit trees at a sale to plant in between the garden rows. Talking about a lot of fruit! In our old house, we tilled the garden by hand, but we weren’t so keen on breaking 300 square feet of thick sod by hand. So, we started researching rototillers. We came a across a pretty-good sized rototiller at a used sale. Thinking that bigger could only be better, we bought it. The giant size still works well for breaking up clay-like dirt, but it’s not so easy to push!
Now, two years later, looking back I am glad we followed the principle found in Proverbs 24:27: “Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field, and then build your house.” Our garage may not be completely unpacked, but we are two years farther into getting fruit from our trees.
Yet, we have found homesteading a lot harder than it looks in the books! After all that hard work of putting in the garden that first summer, our farm was hit with an intense hail storm. We came back from vacation to find the garden in a miserable condition. Nevertheless, we now know to put hail guards over some of the more sensitive plants before leaving town!
Over the last two years, our farm has grown to include milk goats, chickens, and egg-laying ducks. There is nothing more satisfying than coming in from feeding the animals and enjoying fresh eggs, milk and produce. We also have the fulfillment of knowing where our food comes from and what nutrients are on our plate.
Some of my father’s goals in originally moving us to some acreage were to be able to teach us children to work hard, to serve others, and to take dominion for Christ’s kingdom. Having animals that must be fed no matter what the weather has definitely taught us to get out of bed in the morning! Even more rewarding are the countless people from all stages and walks of life that have found our homestead to be a welcome rest from the toils of this world. Many children who might not otherwise get to experience farm life have been able to help feed goat kids, gather eggs, or harvest the garden. Through the creativity the farm life has brought, my siblings and I have been able to prune our skills and use them to further Christ’s kingdom. Whether it’s building a swing for a local ministry, writing, music, or hospitality, I hope we will be able to tell others about the gospel through our example. I know not what new animals we will be able to work with or what new adventures we will add to our little farm in the coming years. Whatever they are, I hope we can use them to bless others and most importantly, to glorify God.
