The Rough Stuff

Psalm 34:1 "I will extol the Lord at ALL times; his praise will ALWAYS be on my lips."

I still have a few minutes of quiet this morning before the troops are up, ready and out the door for school. The "troops" would be my three girls who are all of tween age...yes, the bathroom is the most sought-after room in the house between 7:00 and 8:00am! If they all emerge with smiles, it's already been a good day! LOL
Normally my husband is already in the barn and our faithfull employees have arrived for the day. Problem 1 (minor): He is flat in bed with the chills. Problem 2 (major): There are no pigs in our barn. There are no emplyees to come to work. When I think about this, the Psalm above is sometimes difficult.
This is our story.....
My husband and I have been married almost 14 years. We have three fantastic girls. All our married life he has worked with his parents on the farm, bringing it through 2 expansions. It grew from a family farm to a small corporation employing up to 6 people, plus the two of us. Three years ago we became the sole owners. Life was good. Life was very good. We felt so blessed! We lived well - newer vehicles, vacations and toys. It wasn't excessive by North-American standards, and it wasn't all perfect. As anyone with a business knows, some times are smooth sailing and others...not so much! We had plenty of times where we were scrambling because employees were few or inefficient. It was all par-for-the-course and we didn't worry about it much. No, we didn't worry much, but we were on speed-dial to God in those times! When we got through those patches, we blew a sigh of relief, thanked God and went on our merry way. In the back of my mind I always wondered, when is God going to allow us to wade in deep waters so that we will have to cry out to him? I don't mean in a speed-dial kinda way. I mean depending on him for guidance and direction. I mean having to intentionally listen to the Holy Spirit. I mean cultivating a relationship with Jesus Christ. I mean taking a second look at what I believe about God, who he is and what he can do. I mean finding eternal purpose in this temporary life. THAT"S WHAT I MEAN!
I think we are there. For years, I have asked God to show us that part of him. I begged him to make our lives about more than just the here and now. Why is it so hard to understand that and capture that when things are going well? Why is that we suffer from "numb-butt" when life is good? We have the tendancy to sit on our butts and let the good stuff come to us. We paid it forward like we are taught but still made sure we were comfortable in the process....heaven forbid we disturb that "numb-butt"!!
Well, let me asure you, the "numb-butt-ness" has been disturbed! Six months ago we opened an enevelope that had a letter of doom inside. It told us that we were no longer under contract with the hog marketing company. Even then, it never occured to us that it come to a completely empty barn! We were sure the hog market would have turned around by then and all we would feel is a small bump in the road. Hmm....what small bump? It's fallen into an enormous pothole!
I think we are there. God heard my prayers for more. I remember a time last fall at a ladies retreat where I found myself face-to-the-floor, sobbing, begging, pleading, petitioning God for more of him. He has delivered in a way that I never imagined. Oh, I thought he would allow rough times to make us sit up and notice but he took it further. I remember the Holy Spirit daying to me "Are you ready for the ride?" I wasn't. God extended his hand to me and brought me to this - I can truely say that I will extol the Lord at all times!
More next time! Today I will praise him with my empty barn and my full heart! Anybody got any ideas of what I can do with such a massive building of concrete and steel?!!!!