Well, everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve written. I wanted to put out a blog following Mark’s kickoff episode to his resurgent season since I am one of those with whom it struck home. If you haven’t caught that episode yet, pause and give it a quick listen (Episode 84).
The cliff notes version: Life can get busy. Life can get hard. When change comes, it can be easy to get priorities jumbled. Part of Mark’s discussion asks the simple question, “what does your calendar say about you?” The answer to that question is a great litmus test for where your priorities lie.
Take it from me. I recently moved across the country (yes, again), which substantially shook things up. Before our move, I had finally got house projects to a manageable state, settled into an enjoyable job, had an established exercise routine, and fell in love with the crisp mountain air.
My priorities had changed vastly over the past year, and I felt firmly led to build my multigenerational family team. I had an assortment of fatherhood and family podcasts that I had time to listen to, keeping my fire lit as I went about my days. I thought I had made it to my dream location and was settling my family where we were meant to be. But a few key pieces were still missing.
Without delving into too many details, I had a job opportunity arise in a new location that would allow me to own some land and build a more self-sustained life. My wife and I had already developed dreams of starting a homestead to raise our kids, but it seemed like a far-off fantasy.
To those of you who aren’t in tune with the Colorado real estate market, the prospect of owning land is out of reach for many. With the direction the world seems to be tilting, the ideals of self-providing seemed to be getting more and more important. Turns out, pieces started falling into place a little too easily for us to not believe God’s true plan for us was somewhere else.
We put our faith on the line and packed up, less than a year after purchasing a home in our dream location. We stuffed the SUV with the dogs, a toddler, a pregnant mama, and a trailer full of house plants to drive 28 hours east.
Now, several months later, we are (somewhat) settling into a new home with our chickens, a few ducks, a greenhouse full of plants, and some guard pups to keep an eye on the place. As nice as all that sounds, I have a lot to figure out as far as my time and state of mind are concerned.
Starting a much more stressful job has taken a toll on the regularity I had developed in my schedule. I’ve fallen away from exercise, no longer have the flexibility to listen to encouraging podcasts, and regularly arrive home with a much thinner buffer of patience. A big chunk of the time I have left has gone into a new slate of projects to prep our new home inside and out. Thankfully, the one thing I have kept intact is some time in The Word.
Okay, so here I am with the land we’ve dreamed of to build a homestead, but I’ve lost some key elements in the process. I feel like I’ve had so much going on at work and with home projects that I haven’t had the same time or energy to give to my family. But is that really the case..? Or did I just lose sight of my priorities in the storm?
Mark’s podcast struck me right in the heart. I took a big new job with a lot more responsibility, but my grip on what really matters slipped. What does my schedule say about me now? Where is the majority of my energy being spent? I truly enjoy my new job, but even when I’m home my thoughts tend to stray back to work.
It’s time for me to refocus and reprioritize. The whole reason I took a new job, sold my home, and moved across the country was to take another step toward building my multigenerational family. I wanted to settle on some land, fill it with plants and animals, and provide the ideal place to raise my kids.
As I said before, my dreams have changed drastically over the past few years. I went from being not sure about kids at all to wanting five or six. I went from being unsure about my role as a father to a deep-seated conviction to lead my family using the ideals of biblical manliness.
I had the question posed to me recently, “Why would you want to raise that many kids in this world? I have a teenager, and it is messed up out there.” My answer was already waiting, deep-rooted in my soul: Because I want to raise my clan, my team, with the principles to lead others to change that very narrative in their circles and beyond.
My goal with this blog was to get my personal thoughts and experiences on paper because I might not be the only one going through something similar. Life can change quickly, and storms can come without much warning. It is important to sink our roots in Jesus Christ so that when those storms come, we don’t get blown away.