Come out!

As an agronomist, I spent many summers in corn fields. One day the Lord showed me life is much like being in a corn field. One can look up, see the sky, and hear the wind of the Holy Spirit, but cannot feel him. One can only get a small breath every now and then. Visibility is limited in a corn field, as it is with our physical eyes. If one wants to see into the distance and feel the wind they must step out of the field, even though what’s on the outside cannot be seen from the inside. In essence, stepping out takes faith. With this analogy I now understand my King was challenging me to come out of my comfortable life and walk more closely with him, but I didn’t realize that at the time. This occurred in September 2019.

In August 2020, I was again buzzing from field to field checking corn when I felt a cool waft of air on my hot, sweaty skin. I stopped rushing for a minute and looked up. I knew I couldn’t see the wind, but I looked up anyway to see the beauty of the sky, and just hear the wind; to just stop for a moment and listen. The wind picked up at that moment. I smiled but was slightly disappointed because I could only get small breaths of wind inside the tall corn canopy. I was thinking of the message the Lord gave me in September a year before. Then I heard him, my God, say,

It is time to step out of the corn field; to get higher so you can feel the wind and dance with me. You cannot do what I am calling you to do in a corn field. It got you to where I wanted you to be, now it’s time to leave it. We’re going somewhere else.

As I scribbled this message in my pocket notebook, the wind kept coming in bigger gusts, making the tops of the plants dance. The wind hadn’t been that strong all morning. I asked the Lord where he wanted me to go for work now. I believe he told me to help my boyfriend at the time in his business. So that night I shared what the Lord told me. I told my boyfriend to just pray about it and promised I would not make any moves unless he was okay with it.

After a few days, my boyfriend said having me work for him would actually be an answer to prayer. He told me he had been wanting help, but didn’t want to hire another mechanic who would not do things the way he wanted them done. My boyfriend said he’d love to have help in the office, but there’s no way he could pay me what I was then making. I told my boyfriend I knew that. I told him walking with the Lord always requires faith. God is never going to ask us to make a move we are fully and financially prepared to make, otherwise we wouldn’t need God. I said to my beau I believed this was from the Lord, and God was challenging us both to take a leap of faith and trust him. We sat down and made a budget. He and I also prayed for God’s guidance on when and how to make this move.

When I visited with my mom about this she wisely asked,

What if you guys break up?

I thought for a minute, and then answered honestly,

That would be awkward. I would be uncomfortable for a while, but I would make it through it, and still be okay because I know what God told me to do, and I am supposed to do it regardless of my relationship with my boyfriend. I don’t think God would set me up to fail, and I need to do this and just trust God to handle everything I don’t understand. Isn’t that faith, and aren’t we supposed to grow in faith?

I started working for my boyfriend in October 2020. I was pretty uncomfortable as I tried to learn how he managed the office, and why he did things the way he did. I cried trying to figure out how to do new employee paperwork, and how to keep track of and report income tax withholding for both employee and employer. Then, the Holy Spirit gave me peace. He helped me. I noticed I did not feel sad about missing harvest or not pulling soil samples, and my beloved Brittany Spaniel was allowed to come to work with me.

Ten days later, my boyfriend took my kids and me to Cheyenne, Wyoming. At Mirror Lake, he asked me to marry him! I said yes! My daughter was taking pictures and conquered her fear of heights. My son and nephew-in-law-to-be were climbing all over the place, and my niece-in-law-to-be was learning how to skip rocks. Two years later I am a decent secretary (not great!), my husband’s sales have increased, and all our bills are paid! Our Father truly knows what’s best for us and is fully trustworthy!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10