What do you do when the days feel like they are slapping you around? You know, the kind of day, week…maybe even month, where you feel like you just caught your breath… just got your feet firmly planted under you once again…and then another round of circumstances comes at you like a charging stampede of bulls?
WHOA
Did you know black Angus are feisty cows? After an exhausting hour of trying to herd him and another, much calmer cow into a trailer, I perched my tippy toes on top of the wheel well to peer in and make sure they were safe and sound. It was during this moment that Mr. Angus decided to have a house party in the trailer and started bucking around to show me his manliness.
A few jolting seconds later, I was staring up at the sky, knocked flat on my back, laying on the gravel driveway, wondering what had just happened! I have to admit, as I laid there a minute with an aching back, a tear slipped down my cheek as I thought, “man, this lifestyle can really slap you around”.
Earlier This Week
You see, just two days before, I was in the ER with Ryan, being told by the doctor that the severe belly pain he had been suffering with for three days was in fact a very angry appendix that was threatening to rupture. Immediate surgery was our only option.
Thankfully, he is home now and working to recover. Ryan has given us some BIG shoes to fill while he’s temporarily on light duty. He’s the head of operations here at the farm and the ‘general contractor’ in charge of building our poultry processing facility. So, as we rally together to meet deadlines and ensure a smooth running of the farm…we get to choose to see all the things we have to be grateful for and not let the busy season get the best of us.
What Do You Do?
We all have those seasons. The times when you are working so hard… but life keeps coming at you faster than you can keep up with. What do you do?
Just pick a color! What do I mean by that? Well, that’s a quote by a smart friend of mine when we were engaged in a discussion about what can you do when circumstances seem too hard.
Just Pick A Color
It’s inevitable, life happens, the unexpected occurs, things break, people get sick…black angus have ‘house parties’ in trailers and knock you flat on your back :-)…But… you get to choose. You get to choose how you view things. You get to choose how you will respond. You get to choose how you will color the day.
Will you color it with yellow tones of optimism… Knowing that every day you get a fresh start with new mercies. Will you color it with warm red shades of thankfulness…that while it may be hard, here in America, we enjoy access to medical care, safety and freedoms that other war torn countries simply don’t get to enjoy. What about coloring your day with shades of tranquil sea blue, knowing that while you can’t always control what curveballs get thrown your way, you can choose to calmly persevere, realizing that things have a way of working themselves out in the end. And, if you allow it, the tough times can make you stronger, wiser and more experienced.
It’s Up To You
So there you go, what color will you choose? If you are living intentionally, the challenges will most certainly come. But you get to choose how you will respond…how you will color your day!
Gina Hamby is an experienced homesteader and homeschooler, with over 15 years of experience. In addition to her work for Freedom Valley Farm, she also helps give practical advise and encouragement to homeschoolers at her website ginahamby.com.