Simplicity with Power: Country Thankfulness

When we first talked about moving to the country Ben said, "Let's just try it. I think you'll like it. It will be good for you. Country livin' is good livin'." I had a pretty bad attitude about even thinking about it. I tried find something to like about it; I thought and pondered for days and finally came up with the fact that I would like the space for kids to run around. But that was about all I could come up with because I'm a fairly social person. What I mean by that is that I thrive by being with people. Which means that I become a complete idiot when I'm by myself for long periods of time. I NEED neighbors, if nothing else, ~~just to have someone to spy on~~ someone to borrow an egg from. Ya know?

But I think God likes playing jokes on me, it always goes something like this:
Step 1) I say I will never do something.
Step 2) Ben chuckles.
Step 3) God gets the circumstances all lined up.
Step 4) BAM- I am doing the VERY thing I said that I would never do.
Step 5) Everyone's laughing except me.

So when we decided we would go to the country I chose to embrace it by buying Wrangler's. Just Kidding. I bucked like a bronco and set my forehead like flint against this crazy idea and set out to prove how wrong he/He was! Not my best idea. I don't know how God changes hearts. I don't know how He sets wrong things right. I don't know how He works all things out for our good. But He does. And over time I have begun to fall in love with where I live! We've been here, in the country, for about 18 months now and it has become a place where I love spending my days and I long to return to every evening.

Once, when I was throwing a large fit about livin' excluded from the whole world, a wise friend told me, "Well, you can embrace the beauty of where you are and be thankful for it. Or you can stay miserable." I looked out my window in that moment and saw one small bird in our walnut tree. I started there. One miniscule act of thankfulness. And He began to turn my world around. So, in honor of a humorous God, a patient husband, and a country-girl's heart change, here is my list of the top 10 things I love about where I'm livin'....

1. Gardens and their fruit