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How's your 2025 been?

Mandy Lee

This year came in with all the things...all at once...in a single month...

Life, loss, growth, misunderstandings, adrenaline rushes and pure exhaustion, restoration, forgiveness, healing, tears and laughter...






This picture sums it all up...we're just over here living life.


In my excitement for this year's growing season I had started my peppers and tomatoes on what I like to refer to as Tomato Day or what most know as December 26th. And then January rolled around with it's glorious self and I think I have 4 tomato plants still hanging on and the peppers are just poking their little heads through. I definitely celebrated their birthdays Saturday.


But it's ok. And I will start more. I was where I needed to be and doing what I needed to be doing.


I have spent the last 3 years praying for a word from the Lord for each year. This year my word was hunger. I wanted to spend the whole year hungry for His word, for His love, for His movement. Well He had different plans for that word. Instead He made me hungry for the comfort of His children. He made me hungry for the desire to be a servant and a sister. He made me hungry to be brave enough to look different, to be set apart, to be bold in the things He was asking me to do or be apart of. He gave me the hunger to be sacrificial in time, focus, attention and love. His version of this word is so much better than my limited view was.


BUT He forgot to take away the uncomfortableness and the terrified-ness (yes, that is now a word).


I know full well He didn't forget anything. I also know full well that both of those are part of not only growing in my faith but also in following where He is leading me to be. It's taken me a couple weeks now to really process everything that happened and actually have a minute to see in retrospect what He achieved and simply allowed me to be a part of. I was able to love on my friend. I was able to put things together in the name of the Lord that by man's rules weren't allowed. I was able to watch my body do things that it hasn't been able to do in years without a single flair up. I was able to watch my husband and son be the best support system while I was needed elsewhere. I was able to go and serve and love with my sister in Christ. I was able to pour out over and over and over and mostly manage to be unseen, because every single second of it was all Him. I was only one of the vessels He was using. I was only one of the many people He was allowing to do His work. And I still don't feel worthy of it. Who am I?


But now life is returning to a new normal and February has brought about a lot of things here on the farm already. I have my temporary greenhouse in place and almost ready to start seeds, just have to get the new plastic on it. We have my long beds finally finished and one of them planted with potatoes. We have started marking out the next section of rows that will be prepped as soon as chickens are processed and in the freezer. We have two healthy and growing litters of piglets on the ground. We are almost ready to process our two barrows on farm in March. We started on the new chicken coop for our layer birds. Slowly but surely things are coming together. And there is still so much to be done...but today....today we are planning out the garden spaces, and coming content and the future projects on this farm, as we watch the Seedtime Summit and bake bread for the Men's Bible Study that will be here this evening.


Today we just enjoy the life that we get to live...even in its unpredictableness (yes that is now also a word). And we thank Yahweh for the grace and mercy. love and forgiveness He pours out over us daily. I pray that I am able to remember to extend those same things to those around me as often as He extends them to me.


May the soil be fertile, the harvest be bountiful and the farmer never grow weary.

-Farmer Mandy



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979 ACR 1772
Grapeland, TX
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