A Young Man's Wild Dream Actually Happens....

Dateline: 4 May 2008

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The young man was me. I once had an idea of something I wanted to do. It was a wild dream. It was a desire to do something in my life that, looking back now, I could never have done. But, amazingly, without even realizing it (until just recently), the dream has actually come true.


Back 30+ years ago, when I was 18 or 19 years old, I came up with the idea. When you are that age, with your life before you, and you are full of energy, you can dream up a lot of ideas of what you are going to do in life. Anything is possible. The canvass has yet to be painted. I may have had more ideas than some.


I talked about my idea with only one other person. I told her all about my dream. Her name was Marlene. She is now my wife. We've been married almost 28 years. I do not think I have ever mentioned to her anything about the idea in all those years. The idea fell by the wayside and was forgotten as we got on with the realities of life. It really was a crazy dream of an idea.


Then, a couple months ago, I remembered the idea. And I was struck with the realization that it has actually come to fruition. Maybe I was imagining the dream. It had been so many years ago. I decided to verify it...


Marlene and I were taking a morning walk up the road a couple weeks ago and I asked her if she remembered when we were kids? She laughed. I asked her if she remembered that crazy idea I had to start up and publish a magazine like the Mother Earth News. She remembered. I asked her if she remembered the name I had come up with for the publication. She thought a second and said: The Harvest Moon?


Wow. She did remember! I wasn't imagining all of this.


I told Marlene that I had recently come to the realization that my long-ago dream has, in a sense, actually come true. This blog, The Deliberate Agrarian is, esentially, a down-to-earth publication, similar in many ways to the early Mother Earth News magazine, of which I was once such an avid reader. The Harvest Moon has come to life as The Deliberate Agrarian.


For almost three years now I have been writing here on this blog about the joys of faith-and-family-focused rural life, self sufficiency, respect for and responsible stewardship of creation, and organic gardening and farming. I have presented and celebrated a countercultural way of life. I have published numerous how-to articles. I even advertise and sell stuff.


This little blog, humble though it may be, is, the realization of my boyhood dream.


30+ years ago I never would have imagined something like the internet would come into existence. Now, with practically no financial investment, I can write, edit, and put photos in a "publication" that can reach thousands of people. I can communicate ideas and information that entertain and teach and encourage others to live what I believe is a richer, fuller, wiser way of life--a way of life that is contrary to the mainstream insanity.


And, better yet, I'm not the only one. Others are doing this same thing. But, and this is my point, I really did have the idea decades ago to do something much like what I am doing now. Is that amazing, or what!


This whole realization leads me to the further realization that it is amazing how God works in our lives. I had a crazy dream when I was a young man. I think God gave me a glimpse of something that He intended for me to do. It was totally impossible. So impossible that I pretty much forgot it. But, over the years, I discovered a God-given talent and a deep desire to write. The Lord gave me opportunities to develop those talents. Then, when the time was right, He brought me into this internet realm. Since then, the words and the ideas have flowed out into this blog. I do not have a huge publication like Mother Earth News was, but I have something akin to it.


God's sovereignity is an awesome thing to consider. I'm obviously not talking about some earth-shaking event here. On the cosmic level it's miniscule. I am, as I've stated here before, nothing more than a very little fish in a very big pond. But the Lord has led me into something that I think He destined me to do. I am, frankly, amazed at this, and I want to acknowledge His goodness in this regard.


I also want to take this opportunity to point out that this blog has an extensive archive of articles. They have been written to inspire, inform, encourage, and teach. You can get to them by way of the sidebar over on the right side of this page. Or you can get there from the links below:


Faith
Christian Agrarianism
Family
Livin’ The Good Life
Community
My Younger Days
My “Older” Days
Rural How-To
Raising & Processing Poultry
Rural Enterprise
Garlic
Agriculture
Odds n Ends