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Faith

Stepping into the Promised Land

I could write a book about the journey we’ve experienced during the past two years to get to this moment. I imagine how Joshua and Caleb must’ve felt when the finally got to cross over into the land the Lord had promised them. The land flowing with milk and honey.

We left Colorado for Virginia almost two years ago. It was one year and 11 months if you want to be precise. We left with a vision and a direction. When we got here, nothing went as planned and we ended up renting an apartment instead of buying a home with acreage.

To say we were disappointed is an understatement.

But God had something in mind, and I think He really wanted to make it amazing.

In my head and my heart, I had a vision for specific things on my property.

I saw a mix of cleared land and woods.

I saw “rolling hills”. Not too steep and not totally flat.

I saw 5-10 acres.

I envisioned what I called a bubbling brook.

I wanted the property to be within 30 minutes of civilization. You know, stores, the library, parks, etc.

I wanted the property to be about an hour from our current location.

This is a tall order. And I continued to lay these things down before the Lord. I had a heart of “not my will, but yours, Lord”. Everything on this list was negotiable because at the end of the day I just wanted to step into the call God gave us to farm. I would’ve taken 1/4 acre and done a mini-farmette if that’s what the Lord gave us.

I’ve been looking at land and properties off and on, and when the lockdown and everything hit, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Our lease is up in July and while I was discerning that we shouldn’t re-sign the lease, I also had no direction on what to do instead. It’s a tough place to be in.

I started looking at lease-to-own options trying to see if anything would fit.

One day I stumbled across some land that had been on the market for a long time. It was a farm that had been subdivided into many parcels. I remember looking at it more than a year ago when all the spots were available. And when I looked again, only 2 were left.

I asked Nathan if he wanted to go look at the land. He said sure, why not. So we did.

I had contacted several properties I was interested in, but when I stepped foot in the woods and looked back over the fields, I sensed the presence of the Lord and I could see us being there.

We visited another property, and it wasn’t it.

For a few days, we wrestled. We had so many unanswered questions about the property in terms of how to get a well, septic, etc. We’ve bought a house before, but never raw land.

My husband looked at all of these unknowns as giants. He wanted the answers, but God was calling us to take a step of faith. He was calling us to a new place. And just like the Israelites as they stepped out of Egypt into the wilderness, and then on to the promised land, we had a choice to make.

We could shrink back in fear, or we could say yes.

The truth is, I think we were waiting for “permission”. But God already gave us permission when He called us out here. We had a wilderness season where we needed to grow in our faith and shed the things we had clung to for so long. He showed us the options and was giving us a choice.

We chose the land with the rolling hills, the mixture of cleared land and woods, that is 24 minutes from civilization, 55 minutes from our current location, and it even had a bubbling brook on the back part of it. Look at God. He has done an incredible thing. When we said yes, I didn’t realize that it checked EVERY box for the things I hoped for in a piece of land. And the acres? Just under 11.

God did more than we could’ve ever hope or imagined. We are literally taking steps day by day as we walk into this new season. As we research and take steps of faith, God is revealing more and more about what to do next. And He’s giving provision for the vision.

The bubbling brook at the back of the property

We finally got to step into the promised land. The land the Lord set aside for us. And it’s humbling and exciting and terrifying all at once.

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