Trying New Things

Our move from big city life to a more rural setting has brought about many new things for our family. From the time Naomi and I got married, we have lived in the metropolitan areas of Alabama (Huntsville, Mobile, and Birmingham). Now we are living just over the Mississippi state line in what our four year old calls "the pasture". This is definitely not where I grew up.

I did have the privilege of living in a small rural town during and right after college. It was a culture shock as I realized that I would have to adjust to the nearest Walmart being half an hour away.

Being out in the country, we have decided to try some new things. The main thing has been a garden. I will admit that my wife does most of the work with it, but I have had the opportunity to help some. Today, I helped pick blueberries for the first time ever.



I got to thinking about it and realized that I had been missing out on a pretty cool thing. Now we will not have to wonder how fresh the veggies or blueberries are at the store.

Why have I not experienced this before now? I can think of a couple of reasons.

1. Environment pressure. I was raised in a decent-sized city. I may have been raised in the south, but I had not much exposure to true "country living." With everything at your fingertips in the city, it is easy for one to miss the ways in which some of those things got there.

2. Laziness. Let's be honest, it is a lot easier to go to the grocery store down the road and buy tomatoes than to grow them yourself. While it is convenient, you miss quality. Have you ever tasted a tomato right out of the garden? Sure it is hard work, but it is well worth it in the end.

3. Fear. Being that I had never done a garden before, one reason I had never attempted one was the fear of failure. I had no clue how to do this. Failure would be a sure result if we went down that road.

Strangely enough, many people use these same excuses in church/ministry. They know that what they are doing is not working and reaching people with the Gospel like it should. They know that something has to change but these excuses keep too many people from experiencing some of the great things of God.

I would encourage each person who reads this post to give new things a try. It might be in life or in ministry. Just because you have never done it that way before doesn't always mean that it should be avoided at all costs. You might be surprised at how a new or different way can open your eyes to things that have always been right in front of you.