Bloom Where You are Planted

They always say you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl.  That always makes me smile.  I was born, raised, married, and settled here in Holt County, much to my chagrin much of the time. When I was growing up I would complain about working in the hayfield, having to get greasy, and working out in the heat all day long.  My dad would tease me that I would marry a rancher and live there my whole life.  He was wrong.  But only a little wrong.  I didn't marry a rancher, but I did marry a local business owner who eventually bought a hunting ranch.  I don't live on a ranch, but I do live in the country a mile from town, a whole whopping 20 miles from where I grew up.

I did leave for long enough to go to college and I planned to move to Fort Collins Colorado, near where my best friend lives. But God had different plans for me, and like the song says, "thank God for unanswered prayers."  A person can never know what He has in mind for us, but we can trust that it is perfect.  So while I never planned to come back or settle here right where I grew up, I am so blessed in my life and thankful.

What struck me though, was reading my former student Suzi Campbell's blog, Chores and Chandeliers.  She is such an inspiration and in many ways, Suzi and I are kindred spirits.  Our creative side, our desire to find a bargain, loving to create a new space or recreate an old one, and zest for life.  What I admire about Suzi, though, is her embracing of this country life we've been placed in.  When I read her most recent blog post about a run in with a cattle drive I couldn't help but smile.  She has such enthusiasm for the simplest pleasures and those rare moments when life collides with place and we recognize the irony of it all.

I love where I am most days, and I am blessed with a husband who knows he has to "get me out of dodge" every now and then.  I am blessed with the opportunity to raise my kids in a small community that they love near family that love them too.  I am blessed with perspective, having had the opportunity to travel around the world, literally, and still love coming home.  Max Lucado wrote a book called A Cure for the Common Life, where he talks about finding your sweet spot.  That's really what it is all about isn't it...finding what makes you tick right where you are, grabbing life by the horns, and going for it.

I never look back, only ahead to what life has to offer next, knowing full well that a much higher power than myself sees the big picture and is saying, "Sit back and enjoy the ride Michaela...I know what you need."