Psalm 120:1 ….I cried out to the LORD and He answered me!
Psalm 18: (6) In my distress, I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help…..(16) He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters… (19) He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land…. a land with (a) house filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, vineyards and [orchards] you did not plant – then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt [Seattle], out of the land of [your] slavery.
The LORD blessed me and Ben with a beautiful log home two years ago. It is situated on 8 acres, has an orchard (that we did not plant), a garden with a vineyard in it, and it has a well we did not dig…. God has done amazing things! From the start, my dream for this home and this land was that it would be a place of community and a place of provision for those around us. That it would be a place of ministry filled with reminders of His goodness and His provision for His beloved people.
We moved in on September 1, 2017. The gardens and orchards had been neglected, and most importantly, the orchard had not been watered during the summer of high heat and drought. The trees and plants were stressed, and there was a lot to do and learn during that first month (in addition to settling into our new home!). Thankfully, winter came as a reprieve of sorts from the overwhelming learning curve and work load.
One of the joys of that winter was being able to get a puppy. Champion came home with us on Thanksgiving weekend. Totally fun! Champ was destined to be a very big dog, and during the first year with big dogs it is unwise to run them, so we did a lot of walking. In April (2018), during one of our jaunts in the woods locally, I was bitten by a tick –I did not even know that there was that risk… and I certainly did not know that local ticks are carriers of Lyme disease and other miseries. Lyme really knocked me down physically (and yes, emotionally and spiritually,too!). The work load of the gardens, the orchard, the yard was simply overwhelming and I had no strength or energy to do much of it. Oh, but I tried!
I nearly died last winter. Both Ben and I questioned in February whether I would be around by the first of April. God miraculously healed me April 10, 2019. However, He allowed me to be bitten again by a Lyme carrying tick April 22, and in short order I was back into the symptoms of Lyme disease. I’d learned a lot during the previous year and began doxycycline on day 11 post bite and was on it for 3 weeks. I’m pretty sure the Lyme was killed, but the antibiotic ruined my digestion. Tough season. Recovery was sloooooow. My energy was really sapped, and again I was overwhelmed by all that needed to be done in the garden and yard. I cried out to the LORD for help.
The LORD sent Thomas and young Jack as helpers. Jack mowed for us weekly all summer. Thomas came for one day every other week and did a lot of “heavy lifting” for me – he took a lot of the harder work off of my shoulders. The LORD also pruned me hard in my perfectionism and wanting everything to be done to a high standard of excellence. In gardening, perfectionism is a real liability –nothing that is a growing thing cooperates with my ideas of what exactly it should do, and how it should respond to my efforts to make it grow the way I wanted it to.
The LORD began new friendships in people I’d met through seeking help for Lyme. People did come to pick berries and were provided for. A man from one of our communities brought out a friend and harvested the grapes and much of the fruit harvest in late August. Another man had an apple press and proposed an old-fashioned cider pressing. He and I picked the apples one day in early October, and the following Friday friends from our communities and from our neighborhood came and we all pressed apples. Many stayed for the evening potluck. Around 50 (!) people came and pressed and we got to eat with around 35 of them. New friends were made among them and it was truly a joyful and fun event for everyone.
God had heard my overwhelmed cry for help, and He answered me! I got to see my dream for this place become a reality –community was built, and many were provided for. Praise the LORD!
The LORD has poured out even more abundant blessings on me and Ben. Two in particular come to mind: On Tuesday, October 15, Ben had a car accident and totaled my car. He walked away with only a bruise on his left hand – truly amazing in view of how the car looked when I cleaned it out on that Thursday. Praise the LORD for His protection of Ben! That car, a GMC Terrain, had been a great car for this area. As a small SUV, it had adequate cargo space for our needs, it handled beautifully on the Montana highways, and it also performed really well in snow and ice. We decided to replace it with another one with the same specs.
Saturday night (October 19), prior to Ben’s trip to Seattle the next day, Ben and I prayed – for God’s favor on his trip and for the LORD to protect him as he traveled. At the end of our prayer, I asked for God’s favor on the transport of the vehicle in Allentown, PA that we had identified online from Enterprise as the one we wanted to purchase. I asked specifically if He could make it happen so that the car would arrive in Seattle prior to Ben’s return to Montana. As Enterprise was not open again until Monday, we did not start the purchase process until Ben was able to talk to the sales people Monday morning. After finishing the transaction, Ben asked how long transport typically takes and was told 10 days to 2 weeks. On Wednesday morning (less than two days later), Ben received a call from the Enterprise employee managing the Enterprise lot in Seattle. “This is truly remarkable! I have never seen anything like this happen before! Your car has arrived and it is now in my lot!” WOW! God how exactly did you do that? From Allentown, PA to Seattle, WA in less than 48 hours.! Ben was able to bring it home to me on Saturday evening….. All glory to God – our God Who loves us and is our perfect Provision!
The second blessing – a capstone to the LORD sending help….. Thomas worked for me blowing and raking and managing leaves all morning Friday, October 25. Only about 1/3 of the leaves were down out of the trees at that point. At the end of the morning, he proposed a “work party” – and asked if he could bring friends to finish up the prep work for winter – handling the leaves, and moving an enormous pile of wood chips I’d had delivered onto our driveway. He told me, “we’ll work, and all you need to do is give us hot chocolate and cider.” I told him that if they’d come, I’d do much better than hot cocoa and cider…. that we’d share a meal. I left it up to him as to when – he was thinking either Sunday afternoon or the following Thursday. He decided to work on Sunday (thank the LORD!). Friday night, the LORD sent an enormous windstorm – and all of the leaves were blown out of the trees. Sunday afternoon, 13 people showed up to work. Two other women and I prepared the meal, and the rest worked outside. In three hours, all of the leaves had been blown, raked and tucked under tarps in the garden. The entire pile of wet wood chips had been manually moved into the garden and had been spread out (weed control for next summer!).
We shared a wonderful time of fellowship at dinner Sunday evening. Truly, a joyful and sweet blessing –God answered my prayers for help… and He let me see the realization of my dream for this place being a place of blessing, community and provision for His people. And to confirm that it was all Him…. Winter arrived with a blizzard in the wee hours of Sunday night which covered everything with 3 inches of new snow. The property was readied for winter in the nick of time! To Him be all glory and praise!!!