A decade of country living

We’ve lived in the country for a decade now. 

When we moved out here, our youngest wasn’t even toddling around yet. Rachel took her first steps here in our one-story house, even though she learned to climb the stairs at our old house in town. We’ve celebrated all of her birthdays here.

Our oldest, who is probably currently living here for the last summer, was nine that summer we changed addresses. Our boy, sandwiched between his sisters, was six when we moved seven miles from town. Nobody was double-digits yet, and now they’re all there; they’re 10, 16, and 19. Two are driving, and that little one who wasn’t even toddling a decade ago does her best to keep up with them both. 

We paved the driveway, extended the driveway, finished the room above the garage, filled in a pond, and dug another pond that’s now stocked with fish. We cut trails and maintained trails. We installed a pool and expanded our porch. We built a barn, but I have no idea why we call it that because it houses the lawn mower, side-by-side mule, ping pong table, and space that doubles as a pickleball or basketball court. 

As a family, we’ve explored, grown as a people, grown tomatoes, grieved, celebrated, swam, walked, and planned. We’ve made a billion decisions around our kitchen table or our porch. We’ve been surprised by life in the best and worst ways. We hunkered down during the social distancing of COVID-19 and several snow days right here on our acreage. 

For 10 years, I’ve wanted to name this property, but I’ve never found the right name. Even so, this place has given me life, or, rather, God has sustained me and rescued me over and over again, here in the country. I’ve become a plant lady and a cat lady. We have dogs now. The wild turkey and deer are still near, and I try not to think about what else lives in our woods. 

After my dad unexpectedly passed away in 2019, I bought myself a sign that hangs in my kitchen and says: “And so they built a life they loved.” And it’s true. The decade here on Wright Road has shaped me and grown me in ways that echo God’s faithfulness over and over again. Our family has walked through some winding roads that have challenged us, but we still choose to sit down to dinner together. 

This is the life we built in the country. Thanks be to God for every moment, all 315,532,800 seconds. 

*****

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about our country-living life. I wrote about it in my book, “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People,” and shared that excerpt. I also wrote about what I learned after a year of country living.

God authors the stories on our porches – in every season, wherever we live. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to #PorchStories emails to receive them about every other week.