If you had asked me five years ago what I'd be doing today, my guess would not even have come close! My guess would certainly not have been that I, a vegetarian of nearly ten years, would be cooking chicken liver for dozens of strangers, preparing to teach them about unique methods for using and preserving their excess produce. I DEFINITELY would not have guessed that these chicken livers would come from chickens that my hands would help feed, raise, butcher, de-feather, and gut. I could not have imagined that these chickens would come from a small sustainable farm in Dickerson, Maryland, where this born-and-raised Ohio gal would become the newest member of the Calleva family.
But, alas! Here I am today, standing in my kitchen, watching in admiration and a little bit of horror as Farmer Ben instructs me in the ways of gourmet chicken liver. I trade him one for one with my favorite lettuce soup recipe – made extra delicious with the fresh greens we harvested from our greenhouse only days ago. The adventure has been well worth the ride.
But, alas! Here I am today, standing in my kitchen, watching in admiration and a little bit of horror as Farmer Ben instructs me in the ways of gourmet chicken liver. I trade him one for one with my favorite lettuce soup recipe – made extra delicious with the fresh greens we harvested from our greenhouse only days ago. The adventure has been well worth the ride.
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And so this is how it occurs to me: God has a funny way of leading us down the path he has laid out for us. For some the path may be straight and clear (I have never met these people, but I believe they exist... somewhere...). But for the rest of us, the path is like a meandering dirt trail that twists and turns and seems to almost disappear at times – a path that almost never ever ever ever seems to go the way we think it will go.
If God had told me five years ago, “I want you to be a farmer,” I would have said, “Are you serious, God? I mean... okay, but... really? I don't think you got that right... maybe you meant to talk to the girl praying next door... I'll call again tomorrow.”
Perhaps God knew this about me, because five years ago God did not tell me, “I want you to be a farmer.” Instead God called out to me in small decisions daily, urging me to walk with him, though I did not always understand. He led my heart slowly, gently, even playfully toward each next stop on my path. Some days his calls were grand: calls to mission trips or internships or relationships. Some days his calls were but a whisper: walk the long way to class, finish this book, wake up early tomorrow and be with me.
And I began to find that every time I ignored God's call, large or small, the trail seemed to disappear and I was left spinning, searching all around, wondering, “Where?? Where do you want me to go God?” But the days when I could find the strength within me to instead say, “Yes,” - oh, those were the best days. It was not as though the trail suddenly appeared, but rather that I closed my eyes and held out my hand and God said, “Here. Here is the way, my love.”
So here I sit, a daughter of Cleveland suburbia, newlywed and trying to make my way as a Maryland farmer and educator, wondering what surprises God has in store for my next five years.
But this I know: today I felt the whisper. An urge to tell you all that vocation is not a “YES!” yelled from the rooftops, but an embrace within the heart. Resist the luring temptation to strain your neck, squinting, searching for the trail. Try if you can to close your eyes and reach out your hand and wait for your Maker to whisper to you. Trust the desires he has placed in your heart and he will fill your cup.
If God had told me five years ago, “I want you to be a farmer,” I would have said, “Are you serious, God? I mean... okay, but... really? I don't think you got that right... maybe you meant to talk to the girl praying next door... I'll call again tomorrow.”
Perhaps God knew this about me, because five years ago God did not tell me, “I want you to be a farmer.” Instead God called out to me in small decisions daily, urging me to walk with him, though I did not always understand. He led my heart slowly, gently, even playfully toward each next stop on my path. Some days his calls were grand: calls to mission trips or internships or relationships. Some days his calls were but a whisper: walk the long way to class, finish this book, wake up early tomorrow and be with me.
And I began to find that every time I ignored God's call, large or small, the trail seemed to disappear and I was left spinning, searching all around, wondering, “Where?? Where do you want me to go God?” But the days when I could find the strength within me to instead say, “Yes,” - oh, those were the best days. It was not as though the trail suddenly appeared, but rather that I closed my eyes and held out my hand and God said, “Here. Here is the way, my love.”
So here I sit, a daughter of Cleveland suburbia, newlywed and trying to make my way as a Maryland farmer and educator, wondering what surprises God has in store for my next five years.
But this I know: today I felt the whisper. An urge to tell you all that vocation is not a “YES!” yelled from the rooftops, but an embrace within the heart. Resist the luring temptation to strain your neck, squinting, searching for the trail. Try if you can to close your eyes and reach out your hand and wait for your Maker to whisper to you. Trust the desires he has placed in your heart and he will fill your cup.
Written by: Shayn Gangidine
