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“You’ll Never Know if you Don’t Try.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.” This saying has been circling my head as we work tirelessly breaking new land for our pumpkin patch. It’s hot and sweaty, mosquito’s are eating us alive, and we do not have the right equipment to do the job properly. But, when there is a will, there is a way. We have the will to keep going on this plot to fulfill a dream of mine, to have a pumpkin patch.

It also makes me think about the last few years. We had so many dreams when we first were married. Dreams we did not have a clue about, to be honest. We then became comfortable at where we were in life with a few kids in the mix. But, what about the dreams we originally had? Should we still try to pursue them? Or should we stay where we are comfortable and live an average life? Together, as a couple, we knew we wanted more. Live without regrets, right?

When our life changed

At the beginning of our marriage, we dreamed of living in an old farmhouse. Fixing it up and making it our own.  Oh, what a great project that would be. But, God has other plans. We lived in a small fixer-upper house in town. Two bedrooms with the possibility of re-doing the upstairs. We had our first child on the way. Life was full of possibilities. Then, my father unexpectedly passed away on our vacation in Mexico. It was devastating!  When his heart attack happened, life changed. The life we had changed as we mourned and tried to get a grip on things.

I am an only child and my father was not married. I inherited the house. It was a BEAUTIFUL house! A house that my single father built with the help of many family members and friends. My father and I picked out every part of that house. Now, I was blessed to inherit it for my family. I would take my dad back any day of the week. But, this is what I got instead. I was proud of that house. Yet, it was not my dream.

After having 4 kids in that house, we couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like with more land. We lived in a subdivision. We raised chickens and ducks (most of the neighbors didn’t mind). Daniel dreamed of raising a cow in the back part of our lot. There was no option of buying the land behind us. We were stuck. We had a great house, full of memories, yet we were stuck. This dream was not our own.

But What About Our Dreams?

We decided to look at new houses. I found my “dream house.” That is what I actually called it, as I drooled over pictures of it on the realtor site. We visited it once to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. It was all that we could have wanted but the price was too high. We decided to keep looking. A few weeks later, our realtor called us and said that the homeowners sold off some of the land and would like us to reconsider us. They sought us out and we could afford it now. “You’ll never know if you do not try.”

You’ll Never Know if You Don’t Try

We took the plunge. And let me tell you…. it was HARD for me! I went through an emotional breakdown during the process. Living in the house of my deceased parent was like you are holding a small piece of them. I was now leaving that! We took every piece of it we could. I did not know how emotionally invested I was in our old house. But, my father was not there. He wouldn’t want that for me.

We moved quickly (per the purchasers of our homes request) and there was no turning back. We packed up all our stuff like crazy, threw the chickens we had in boxes, and moved! Thankfully, a chicken coop was already there that we could move our chickens into.

Do we Regret it?

I do not regret moving to the farm. It was something “we” always wanted. We now had space to grow, freedom to raise any kind of animal, and the opportunity to make any life that we could only imagine.

Fast Forward to Now

Today, 3 1/2 years after our official move, I sit on a tractor (something that I never thought I would do), tilling up fresh ground that will soon be made into a pumpkin/sweet cornfield, and I can’t help but think “You’ll never know if you don’t try.” There is a possibility that this pumpkin patch will fail. All this work could add up to nothing. But, we’ll never know unless we try. And then my husband stops the tractor and says to me, “We can do this! It’ll take a lot of work but we can do this.” And I think YES, WE CAN DO THIS! We may not have the right equipment for the job, but we will make due. We may make some mistakes, but we will learn from them.  When there is a will, there is a way. It’s a risk, but we won’t know unless we try.

Was it worth it?

The last 3 years have been the most rewarding years yet! We have suffered heartbreaking loss from animals, we have learned an abundance of new information, which is only a small fraction of what needs to be learned, and there are days when I want to give up. Moving to the farm was not the most financially smart move. We need extra income to raise animals and get the equipment we need. But, there is no doubt in my mind that it was the right move for us. We may fail. That yearly family vacation may not be possible because of finances and responsibilities. We may be sacrificing some things for the possibility of more. But, we will never know if we don’t try.

As Lewis Carrol, the author of Alice in Wonderland says, “In the end… We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make.” I do not want to look back on life and wish that I would have tried to do something. We should not be afraid to fail so much so that we never even try. Every day is a gift from God. A day to work towards a dream and be the person you always wanted to be.

So, this little piece of land with a few pumpkins growing on it may not look like much to some. But, it is fulfilling a dream for us. God willing, it will grow pumpkins this year.

Now is the time to live our your dreams

I hope this encourages you to live out your dreams, no matter if that is buying a farm, quitting your job, starting a blog, homeschooling your children, or making any kind of huge life change. It all takes some guts to dive into the unknown and put yourself out there. But, “In the end… We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make.” Don’t look back on your life and wish that you would have tried to do something. We should not be so afraid of failing that we never even try.

What is that dream for you? I would love to pray for you! Comment below.

Pin Me For Later!

You may also like to watch this video which documents our move and was made by the amazing Bobbi K Photography. We are so thankful to have this lasting memory. Check it out here.  For more farm articles, you can read my reflection on raising farm kids in These Are Going To Be The Best Memories Your Kids Will Have or my husband’s article The Tipping Point… Cows!.

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-Lindsay

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