Theo and I have always dreamed of having land. We wanted our kids to be able to run around outside and grow up “free range”. Neither of us grew up with land, although we both had access to the outdoors and being outside as much as we wanted. We probably looked at close to 12 properties before we found the five acres that we now live on. We have lived here for just over a year and we sure are learning a lot!
At first, I felt a lot of internal pressure to “use the land”. I felt that since we had land, we needed to use up all of it. It felt like we were doing something wrong if we are homesteaders with five acres who are only currently using 1-2 of those acres. I felt a little bit guilty for not having a huge, thriving garden and meat birds and horses to graze in our fenced in fields.
But over the past year, my mindset on this has shifted. I’ve learned that it’s ok to not use all of the land that we have. It’s also ok if our land doesn’t look like a magazine or wedding venue.
We currently have a back field that we have not used at all. We mow the perimeter and go for walks out there, but otherwise it has sat untouched since we bought the property. We also have about 1 acre in the middle of our property that is occasionally used for pig rotation, but otherwise also sits untouched.
We have thoughts and ideas and even plans for how to use this land: letting animals graze there, building a 4 wheeler track, maybe even one day building a new house out back (that is a dream that probably won’t come to fruition, but dreams are fun just to have them :)). I personally think that it is really good to sit and wait for awhile and think intentionally about how to use our resources and save up the money for any plans that we do have. I am learning that too often we just want to be “there” – we want to be at the end result. And if homesteading has taught me one thing, it’s that there IS no end result – it’s always a work in progress!
So for now – about half of our land sits “unused”. And this is ok! In fact, in many ways, this can be beneficial. The weeds and grass that grows help nurture the soil and attracts all kind of insects and bees- which are very beneficial for the ecosystem of the whole place – and for miles around! Instead of rushing headlong into projects (which we are very apt to do), it pays off in leaps and bounds to take it slow and establish ourselves one simple step at a time. Even if in the meantime, we look like a total mess.
As with most things, this homestead lesson can be applied to so many other areas of life. So often we think that if we have a gift, talent or resource and are not using it *right now*, that we are wasting it. While this can absolutely be true sometimes, sometimes it is just not the right time or place to be fully using that gift or resource. Waiting seasons are not useless seasons. Waiting seasons are growing seasons and planning seasons and praying seasons and “unseen work” seasons.
So if you have land- or a talent, or a resource- and you have felt pressure to “use it well”, take a step back and truly examine what that looks like. Does that look like being “there” right now. Or does it look like taking slow, sometimes invisible steps- to get to that goal? Maybe it looks like letting your land, or your home, or your heart – be in a season of growing and pruning and looking a little wild and crazy and out of hand? For now. Not for always. But for now.
