This year has been full of defining moments. To list them all beyond the word Covid would take me years but the homestead can have those defining moments too. Like the first day of getting a new animal or when the weather throws you a curveball. I guess life in general is full of ups and downs. The Bible says the only constant is God, He is unchanging. I find comfort in that. It also says that our trials and tribulations are not made by Him but are part of this world to build our Faith in the Lord and develop our perseverance.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.” James 1:3-4

Isn’t that interesting, when we have failures in the garden or in our life, it can do one of two things, break us or build our perseverance. Like we always say it will be better next year! In saying this we build our faith that next year will be different for sure but also that we will be there to see and overcome the new trials that will develop. For the Bible does not say that because we have faith and perseverance in God that we will not face trials, they will just be different ones. Remember the world is always changing. As it did this week on the homestead!

On the Homestead, we were given a weather fastball straight from the north. I arrived home Monday evening to a snow storm! We had weather warnings of course but one always hopes and dreams that the weather guy is not always correct, because there are times that he is not. Thankfully the guys covered everything in the garden and fed the animals extra but one can never be fully prepared. I did what I could as the wet heavy snow fell down around me and went to bed, prayed and was thankful that I was warm and cozy in my own bed. The next morning I woke to 6 inches of the wettest snow imaginable. The apple trees were kissing the ground from the weight and the greenhouse over my tomatoes had collapsed. I pulled out my winter coat and boots and armed my heart with hope as to what I might find. The walk around the property that morning was just amazing. To see the resilience the apple trees showed and how the whole property was actually fine as the snow had insulated everything including the garden.

In the Garden, I was just amazed and thankful. I picked all I could that evening after the snow melted but as I was home alone with only my youngest son, we did not have the strength to pull the greenhouse up right. This would have been fine but Tuesday night was forecasted to be colder. So again I covered everything and prayed. But that night we had a very hard freeze. The temperature plummeted past freezing to 28 and there was no wind so everything was frozen stiff Wednesday morning. If you would like to see a full tour you can find it here. Surprisingly though the green beans survived, I left them covered until the next day thinking they were goners too but they weren’t. The tomatoes were a mystery that was not solved until the guys got back on Saturday. They helped me stand the greenhouse up. I found tomato plants with damaged leaves but tomatoes and the main stems were unscathed. Thank the Lord.

In the Kitchen, I have boxes and boxes of green tomatoes everywhere. We are going to try out Fried Green Tomatoes this week and then wait to see what will ripen. I have hopes of still preserving as much pasta sauce as I can. The taste of these tomatoes this winter will only remind me of the perseverance God can only give through the trials of this world.

Lord, God thank you for being unchanging in a world that can’t decide what is up or down. In you I pray, Jesus Christ, Amen.