It Starts Here.

Hey Folks,

It’s Shannon.  You may find this post to be a little more reflective than some of our posts, AND it really has nothing at all to do with Miller’s Bay Farm, or farming in general.  It has more to do with being human…and our own individual responses to this place in which we have suddenly found ourselves. 🙂

If you don’t feel like reading it, that’s ok.  It IS a long one…but then… it’s not like any of us have anywhere to be right now…

I just know that I’ve found myself aimlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed WAY more than I’d like to admit over these past few days…and honestly, for the most part – I’m no better off than when I started.

Yesterday (Friday, March 13th) I was in a funk.

I knew it.

My family knew it.

Probably even our dogs knew it.

Why? 

Well, I think I know that too.

This is ‘my corner’.

It’s nothing fancy…some candles, a lamp, a super-comfy old chair, my Bible, journal, pens… you get the idea.

I usually spend a little time there each morning – alone –  reading, journaling, reflecting, often praying.

Yesterday I did not.  And it showed.  All day.

You see, here’s the thing about me:

I crave certainty.

I find comfort in routines.

I love the predictable.

Lists…plans….schedules…I’m all over them – to a fault.
In the absence of those things, I am prone to feeling a bit lost, lacking purpose.

Sometimes, when my mind is not locked on a task, it can begin to wander…and wander it will!  Those wanderings can often lead to the weedy territory known as worry.

That’s not a nice place.  That’s not a helpful place.

Just like a dog that’s followed a scent in the wrong direction and needs to be beckoned back to its master, it’s at those times I need to be intentional about the path that my mind is on … being sure to ‘take every thought captive’ .

Because…

Right now, not much is certain.

‘Normal’ routines are irrelevant.  (Oh we’re making some new ones…just ask the kiddos!!   I’m not sure everyone is as pleased with them as I am, but in the interest of sanity….there they are!)  

And the only thing that’s predictable, is that things in our world are changing hour by hour!

So today, I started the day in ‘my corner’.  As always, it was time well spent.

I was reminded of a few things… I’ll share them with you, just in case you’ve been a bit distracted too, and haven’t made it to ‘your corner’ (whatever that looks like for you) in a little while.

• Worrying won’t make anything better. 
  Plus…most of what my mind conjures up never ends up happening anyway!!
  (Do you know … I mentioned the Bible earlier in this post… throughout those pages, we are instructed not to worry 365 times?!?  Talk about making sure we get the message!!)

  

• I can choose joy.
  …to have it for myself…AND to share it with others.

  

• I am not the boss of this (or of much)!!
  …and because I’m not (y’all can be very thankful for THAT one!!) …it’s all going to work out EXACTLY according to plan. 

So where do we go from here…in the meantime…while we wait?

Well, I will be the LAST person to start spouting off advice.  (Seems like there’s PLENTY of that already going around.)  We’re not going to discuss hand-washing, grocery store pandemonium, self-quarantine, or any of the rest of it.

What we ARE going to do is intentionally seek out the good, the encouraging, the normal (even mundane) stuff, to remind ourselves that we are all in community (albeit from a distance…) and that ‘this too, shall pass’.

Then, we’re going to share it with you…mostly on our Facebook page, subsequent blog posts, and maybe the occasional email to our Farm Fresh Family.

…Recipes…Quotes…Inspiring stuff…Silly stuff…Little-known facts…

…and we hope that whatever ‘starts here’ will be a wave of encouragement that spreads far and wide…

Who KNOWS what we’ll find!!
It should be fun.  Join us whenever you feel like you need a break from ‘the rest of it’. !

Be well, and please know that we are thinking of you…now and always.

Shannon

Just a little side note…

…before you go…we wanted to mention that we’re going to take a break from ‘selling’ you anything for a couple of weeks.  We’ll leave our on-line registration for the Bountiful Baskets open, but you’ve got other concerns these days.
It just doesn’t seem like a priority right now.
There’s plenty of time for that later, when everything settles down.