I don’t know when homesteading became such a dream of ours. I’m not sure when it happened. But, it’s here. It’s tugging on us more than anything ever has. The unlikely homesteaders. Two flawed people who grew up in suburbia surrounded by mono-crop farming; sprawling fields of gmo corn and soybeans all around our little town. My mom has always gardened and used to can applesauce from our trees in the yard. I had no interest in learning any of it back then. Sorry, Mom. Thank you for letting me eat half of your apple slices while you worked on applesauce.
Over the past couple of years, when seeking the Lord’s will for my life, I have felt the Lord telling me that homesteading has become my ministry. But, how? Why? What does that even mean, Lord?! It didn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t make sense to me. But, I know that THIS is what He has called me into; what he has called Scott into. We have had a gentle pull towards this for over 10 years. But, it has become almost an urgency to learn. We talk about it a lot. We pray about it a lot. We wonder why and have a lot of questions. What we do have is complete peace.
I am sure that some people in our lives believe that we have completely abandoned obedience to the Lord because we are not in full-time vocational ministry anymore. If you think that of us, then you truly don’t know us at all. We have held everything with open hands. Palms up. Allowing the Lord to take and place anything in our hands that He has for us. I’d have scoffed at you five years ago if you told me this is how it would go. Again, if you really KNOW us you will know. God is good and faithful, and this is right where he wants us.
In spite of all of that, here I am. Mentoring friends and strangers on the internet on how to raise up chickens to provide eggs and/or meat for their families. I am teaching them how to plant tiny seeds to grow food for their families. Encouraging them to care for the soil and the ecosystem that lives beneath– which makes everything healthier and stronger. Educating and encouraging people to take their food into their own hands. I’m showing up in the mistakes and messes. There’s a lot of imperfection. You may not learn too much from me right now, but I’m going to be in your corner cheering you on as you learn to take care of your family and yourself in this way. If you visit my home in the summer, you’ll likely leave with an armload of something from the garden. Probably squash. Sometimes garlic.
I often feel like a homesteading imposter. Imposter syndrome is weird. I am a homesteader. I have the livestock– small livestock, but livestock nonetheless. I preserve my food through canning, fermenting, and dehydration. My basement is still loaded with winter squash from last year’s garden. I cook from scratch. I am reclaiming skills that have been lost through generations. I’ve learned SO much over the last few years. I live a natural lifestyle. I steward what the Lord has given me, and I hope that I steward it well. Sometimes I need to remind myself of the things that I have accomplished. It helps in the moments of discouragement.
You don’t have to do or have all of the above to be a homesteader. It’s almost become a rat race of its own kind on the interwebs. Do I have enough animals to be called a homesteader? I’m still learning how to make sourdough, am I really a homesteader? I only water bath can, does that count? I don’t have a dairy cow, so I must not be a true homesteader. It’s all silly. If you are making any effort to become less reliant on the system, YOU ARE A HOMESTEADER. You are doing the thing.
Joel Salatin said “A homesteader is a person whose heart and whose focus is in the home. It’s a person whose life focus is toward living, staying, loving home.”
Are you a homesteader?
