Boots and Roots

I am still trying to process and digest the info, stories, and experiences from the Homesteaders of America conference.

There was a common theme woven throughout the weekend that coincides–miraculously–with my own story, and the stories and testimonies of SO many other people I have spoken with over the last several years.

God.
Leading.
Refuge.
Restoration and regeneration.
Revival.
Prepping.
Reaping.
Harvest…

Everyone has stories about the Lord leading them out of a wilderness, whether it is financial, physical, or emotional.

Everyone has stories about specific communications and instructions from the Lord, for preparation before, during, and since Covid.

None of these “prepping” instructions included hoarding of food or bullets, or hunkering down and sheltering in place.

The command, in fact, was quite the contrary: prepare—and GO. And so we did.

We knew we had been prepared for such a time as this. We kept hammering away at, and perfecting, the things we’d already learned. Many of us learned a new skill or added a new enterprise to our homesteads. None of us hid. We took advantage of the even greater opportunity to develop/strengthen ties within our local communities. We opened our doors, we shared food, we taught—or began to teach—others the things we had already learned how to do, and we were able to be an encouragement to others–a light in the darkness. We thrived when others were struggling, and leapt at the chance to bring others into a state of the peace and certainty that we have as a result of our faith and this life that the Lord had called us into in advance. After all, we serve the God who created the heavens and the earth, the One who heals the lame, makes the blind see, and embraces the leper. What have we to fear??

Story after testimony after experience is revealing God’s plan for the foreseeable future.

Our homesteads are being set as places of refuge.

We are leaning into our original calling as stewards of Creation–not to dominate over Creation, but to have dominion (care) over it.

Farms/lands are being restored and rejuvenated—as are the plants and animals that we consume for food.

Hearts, families, marriages, churches, and entire communities are being revived.

The harvest is coming.

“The harvest is coming”–do you know how many times I’ve heard this exact phrase, from different people, in different circles, at different times, all as words from Almighty God Himself to each of these individuals??? It is an insane amount, in case you’re wondering!!!

God is actively–and lovingly–involved in the current affairs of the world. Yes there is mess and chaos—because the world is filled with imperfect, and even evil, people But there is healing, and hope. If you can’t see this, you either refuse to believe the mountain of evidence raining down all around you, or you are simply not paying attention. God is ALIVE, He is ACTIVE, and He LOVES you.

Yes, even you who refuses to acknowledge His existence.

Even you who has messed up so much, your life is beyond recognition.

Even you who is trying like hell to run as far away as possible from Him. In case you didn’t know–you can’t run and hide from the Creator of the Universe. He desires for ALL to come to know Him and be saved. Even you.

Did you know, before He even spoke the world into being, that He already knew you? And, already knew every bad choice you’d ever make? And YET, He made you anyway? Why? Because. He’s the Creator of the whole Universe. And He decided that the world–today–at this exact moment in time, needs you in it. He might not have some huge, earth-shattering purpose for your life. But He did create you ON purpose, FOR purpose. To be His Hands and Feet. To be a light in the darkness. To be a little salty, bringing flavor to this crazy world!!

Whether you believe in a Creator or not is irrelevant, really. You can deny that the front door to your house doesn’t exist—but that doesn’t mean that that is the truth. And truth is absolute, despite what our post-modern, 21st century, western culture says. Believe (actively), and be saved. Deny, and….well, that’s between you and the Creator you keep trying to push away. But living apart from Him is meaningless and will have you constantly chasing after the things of the world—acceptance from others, peace, your idea of freedom, control, whatever it is you’re chasing. Living in communion with the One who made you is peace beyond comprehension, joy that is unexplainable, and a freedom that cannot be contained by the world.

But I digress!

What I have been noticing all around me is a “gathering in” of sorts. We are building our homesteads on common ground—from cities to suburbs to the middle of nowhere. The harvest is coming. The Lord is calling people, en masse, to return to our roots, to leave Gomorrah behind, to return to our original calling within the Garden of Eden—which is as stewards of our world, extending those boundaries OUT beyond the Garden—and to thus come into deeper communion with Him. People are questioning the narratives. People are pulling away from all of these “systems”, and moving towards a simpler, more self-sustaining, community-minded life. As narratives are being questioned, sacred cows are being brought down and melted. And it is the homesteaders in your local communities—wherever you are—that will be the physical and emotional places of refuge and healing.

The harvest is coming. Are you ready?