Back in August there was a guy who came and spoke at our church about prayer and intercession. At some point he talked about how he gets up at 5 am to pray every day. I groaned inside. He mentioned that when Jesus taught us to pray "give us this day our daily bread" he probably thought you'd pray that before you needed the bread for that day...likely in the morning. He was a compelling preacher and I felt convicted. But definitely not 5 am convicted.
But wouldn't you know, early the next morning after feeding Alden, I went to crawl back into bed and looked at the clock. I literally watched it change from 4:59 to 5:00. And I groaned again. I knew it wasn't a coincidence. So I put a blanket around me and went downstairs to pray.
I was so tired. And I really was trying to talk myself into letting myself go back to bed but the Holy Spirit was clearly at work because soon I got into a rhythm and started praying for Rory.
I prayed for the work on the farm, his business, his volunteer commitments with the reserves and the pregnancy center in town. I wasn't as tired. I was feeling very grateful for this quiet time in the dark living room looking at the morning stars in the black night.
Rory woke up and I told him I had been praying for him. And it led us into a conversation about all that's on his plate. I started taking notes and then something crazy happened. It hasn't happened in our 12 years of marriage. But I said, "I could help you."
Up until this point Rory's work is Rory's. I have a lot going on in my world too. It has worked well. But as he listed the laundry list tumbling around in his mind I knew I could jump in and help. Most pressing, he said, was to find a computer programmer to help him with his latest project. I made a few phone calls that day, emailed a few contacts. But wouldn't you know, that Friday at Ivar's soccer practice I started talking to a dad who said he was a programmer looking for experience. Incredible. We love this guy and he's been working with Rory since.
And now we have a sitter who comes for three hours every Monday afternoon and Rory gives me a list of things that he can't get to. I want to give you a sample, because this job is awesome.
-post internship positions on local college websites
-research, locate and purchase 4 piglets
-find publisher for board games
-call Zumbrota Livestock Auction and find out best time to deliver goats
-take pictures and post Ram (sheep) on Craigslist
-find nubian billy goat to mate with mama goat
-schedule lamb processing, research best age to process
-call for tour of sheep contact to look at their fencing
The craziest part is that I LOVE IT. I love working with Rory on farm stuff. This wasn't always the case because I had enough going on in this house, but for some reason I have suddenly jumped in fully to this farm life, not just the house life with the kids...
Last week I found our piglets on a farm in Wisconsin. They will be born in January and we'll pick them up in March. I chatted with the lady selling them via facebook all morning, asking questions, figuring out what I needed to know and still need to learn. And when I wrote, "we'll take four!" I shouted aloud. I was so happy! I ran into the kitchen and told Rory it felt like I had just booked a ticket for a great adventure. And I'm pretty sure I had. I never thought I'd be this thrilled about pigs, but I am so excited. I cannot wait!
So we're a team. We're working together on this farm like never before and it is so fun. I was always supportive. I always offered my two cents. I was always on board. But now I'm making some of the decisions. Making the contacts and deciding the plan. Friday night I even made Rory sit down with me and watch youtube videos on how to build a greenhouse...
And I'm still getting up each morning to pray. It's early, and there is no physical part of me that actually wants to get up that early, but sometimes I think it's okay to go against the flesh. I told the Lord that he would have to wake me when he wanted me to pray and Alden has been fulfilling that request faithfully. I am often up between five and six, something that is completely not normal for me. I love my sleep. But these six weeks have been so fruitful and fulfilling and best of all the joy of the Lord has truly become my strength.
So look for me, Farmer Becca. Making phone calls to our local seed vendor, trying to figure out how to plant a cover crop on our field this year, researching tractors and calling a fencing company for an estimate. And if anyone knows of a good, small, used livestock trailer we could buy, let me know!
