Everyone who knows me personally, knows that I am a city girl. I like to shop, drink Starbucks, wear sparkly clothes. I don’t play in dirt, you will never see me with any type of animal that cant come inside- cats, dogs- and farming? Forget about it.
At least I thought I would.
Growing up in Colorado, it was easy to be a city girl- Denver is after all a city. When I moved to the southern states I was in for a big culture shock. At first, when I was living with my aunt and uncle, anything to do with agriculture was not a big deal. I lived by a mall, went to a school- where there was not a “redneck” in site, but that’s another story- and my family, like me, has never been into farming. When my mom, brothers and I all moved out to our own place though, I got my first taste of what was coming for me.
We ended up in what I consider the middle of nowhere. Our “downtown” compared to sky scrapping towers, honking horns and men is businesses suits, was now two gas stations, a veterinary office and a batters box. Not exactly what I had in mind. The new school I started was a 360 from the school I came from. Everywhere I turned boys were in wranglers and girls were in boots. I looked like a steak in the bread isle. This became my new norm from 8th grade through my Freshman year of high school.
Come orientation Sophomore year, I am with my boyfriend- yes boyfriend, remember girls BE SMART!- and his mom. They are very active members in the agriculture class, teams, and FFA. As we were making our last stop at the AG department to say hello, my eye caught some fish. I LOVE Fishies! I was all for the different tanks and breeds. I was very excited. His mom and him convinced me, that maybe I should join Foundations, a starting AG class, since after all, I was looking to get one of my classes changes. Conveniently there happened to be a foundations class that exact period I was trying to get out of. That is when, much like my schools, I made a 360.
I have now been in an AG Foundations class for 5 weeks. That’s about 25 days or me learning about FFA and hogs. I am now a FFA member and a new active team member of their Parliamentary Procedure (par-pro) team. Most definitely not what I ever had in mind.
See, God takes us and leads us to try new things. We are not always comfortable with the changes, or fit in right away. I know I felt out of place and was never going to try anything. I was going to live it out for a year and just say it was not for me. I changed my mind slowly though as the year has progressed. Through FFA I am learning a lot more about farming then I ever thought I would. I now know it is not all about some guy in boots sitting on a tractor chewing on grass. Its much more! Through Par-Pro I am learning the fundamentals of debating and how business meetings work. These are things I am going to take with me in my future. I know it.
We don’t always want to take the path God creates, but when we are brave enough to leave our comfort zone, in so many ways, he teaches and grows us.
Take time to think about something that is outside of your comfort zone. Try it out. God may have something planned for you. Am I saying that all city girls should join Ag or FFA? No!- the nail salons could not handle it. Maybe he is calling you to speak to that kid no one likes, or be respectful to that mean teacher or your parents. You never know. Give it a shot, and see where it leads you.
Always,
Deanna