Wide Open Spaces

 Well, after a long absence on this space, there's a new beginning here.

Not on the horizon , but here , present in my life. God is the author of my life and He has turned the page. After 9 years as an army wife, we packed up our belongings and headed home. Home. A place to sink our roots down into. A place where we can actually dream and have vision for the future. A place to plant fruit trees. 

This post is several months in the making. As I lean into this new rhythm of life, I have waited for the words to come. I have always been a writer, and I knew that as soon as my brain would let me.. I would be able to capture the right words for this new chapter.

In the back ground of my mind, I hear the words to that country song "I Ain't Dead Yet", sung by Ashton Shepherd. 

My life's a lot different now. I've traded the neighborhoods, of military bases for five acres in a valley in Montana. Just down the road live my folks. My husband swapped a military uniform for a cowboy hat, facial hair, and I can't remember when his last haircut was. We do a lot of working together with my folks. Pop is the foreman of an incredible ranch that is just getting started. We are building a one of a kind family operated ranch where people can go and become educated in the subject of wild horses. My husband and I both are going through the certification process to be wild horse trainers. He's the top hand , and quickly becoming Pop's right hand man. My mother and I teach preschool,and homeschool my boys, and do the cooking. This kind of life requires everyone of us to pull together, and have each other's backs. 

I'm grateful for our time as a military family. Most of them were good years. We formed intense friendships with incredible people and I will cherish those forever.

But this life? This present? I wish I could convey the depth of peace, the height of inspiration, the satisfaction of accomplishment in a job well done .

It's not that ranch life is any better than military life, or that life is magically easier now as the wife of a veteran vs active duty. 

No my friend, all life is hard. We have to choose our hard.  If we are to survive life, and do so in a way that thrives, then we have to at some point adopt an attitude of appreciation for the present.

Many times I look back and realize, I wasted years of my life obsessing over the "next thing". This new season is full of beginning. Each day another board is hammered into place, a new building is worked on, and inch by inch progress is made. If we obsess over the end result then we will never appreciate the journey. And we truly have to trust God that His timing is perfect. 

He brought me to this place for this season, and with open heart and hands, I gratefully enjoy it.