A pasture in place of a hot tub. My dad in heaven instead of Minden, Nevada. Piles of manure instead of piles of laundry. No, wait, yeah there's still piles of laundry. Seriously I couldn't have possibly imagined the life I'm now living if I had several crystal balls, a Ouija board and Jimmy the Greek calling the shots (yeah, you kids won't remember him). But you know given the chance I wouldn't change a thing. Call it Karma or the Lord pitching a seriously wicked curve ball (I choose the latter), but life has been what the Chinese call "interesting" for the last six months and I'm digging every minute of it. In case you didn't know we're now living on a ranch and living a ranch style life is certainly a challenge. Oh wait, I was recently told that our little 2.5 acre plot of heaven is really a "ranchette". Hey, for a former So Cal guy it's a RANCH. Yeah, my Texas friends like to laugh and say "oh, that's cute, he thinks he lives on a ranch. His place is the size of our driveway."
But whatever, I digress. It's certainly much different out here in the boonies than it was living in suburbia. These days I'm far more concerned about the welfare of a couple of horse than I am about whether or not my neighbor thinks I have a nice, green lawn. There's a peaceful tranquility that didn't exist, even in my amazing backyard in Westminster where we enjoyed a fireplace, outdoor kitchen and hot tub. Now-a-days we listen to the horses whinny, the eagles screech overhead and the occasional tractor plowing a field. Heck, even our little rat dogs have managed to ratchet it down a notch and just relax a bit under a shady tree without barking at every conceivable thing that moves with the wind.
As life proceeds at what seems like a break-neck speed, I'm thankful that I'm not completely in charge of what happens around me. I suspect if all decisions were left up to me I wouldn't have thought to take on the ranch style life we now have but at this moment I'm so incredibly thankful that God saw fit to put me in this place. I know we're all so consumed with blazing our own trails and setting a path for our lives but I've learned that life is really a collaboration between what we want and what we're given. True happiness comes from making the most of what we're given. I've had a number of challenges in my life and unforeseen forks in the road but if they never presented themselves when they did I never would've ended up where I am now. Those people I call family and friends never would've been if it wasn't for life interceding at those particular moments in time. And for each of those moments, whether good or bad, I'm eternally grateful.
So if life seems to be a pile of manure for you right now, fear not. This is only one of those forks in the road that's leading you to your true bliss. Be thankful for all the challenges that get thrown at you because it's those moments in life that reveal exactly who you are and who you're meant to be. You may not be able to see the sun set but you'll definitely see the sun rise.
Enjoy the ride!
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