I Was a Farm Girl

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't like #outsidelife. However, I put my preferences to the side to spend time the beautiful Ms. Aubrietta. Ms. Aubrietta is a WELL of wisdom. She is a God-fearing woman in my community whom I admire greatly. I remember enjoying a meal at her home years ago and thinking... I need to spend time with this lady. She is just so poised. Her actions and words ooze the love of God. She makes you feel important and her heart is gold.

I've known her for almost 9 years, but it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I actually verbalized to her that I wanted to spend the whole day with her. I'm sure it's not every day that you hear someone say they want to spend the whole day with you, but I truly desired this. Well, here we are 2 years later and we finally scheduled a day.

I want to start off by saying that God loves me. He provided me with beautiful weather that day. It was not too cold, which was something I was concerned about. That day I was living out Psalm 138:8 (NKJV) which says, "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me." Talk about thankful! This girl right here (insert my happy dance).

I arrived at Ms. Aubrietta's home at 6:30 am. When I walked in, I could smell that she had already made breakfast (most likely for her husband), who had already eaten, and the kitchen was already cleaned up. The only evidence left was the yummy smell of bacon. She offered me some coffee and I accepted. That first sip changed my life. I was introduced to whipping cream. I had heard of it, but never really thought to put it in coffee. YUM! YUM! We sat and drank coffee at a table where her bible study/ journal materials were laid out. She told me what she was studying and we had the best conversation.

After our coffee date, we headed out to the farm. There we had to bottle feed a calf, put out regular feed for some more calves, and then feed the dog and farm cats. While out there, I witnessed her husband and son working with the bulls and those jokers were intimating. I was like..."Lord, let them bulls stay over there". Once we were done, we came back inside to cook another breakfast and prep for lunch. After that was done, we sat down and Ms. Aubrietta taught me how she meal plans. MIND BLOWN!

So, here I am... happy to know what I'm cooking this week. Not that I have anything prepped. I just know the meals I plan on making, so I know what food to buy. Yeah, I thought that was pretty good. This woman is a mastermind. She is so gifted at not only cooking for her family, but hosting big meals for others.

She was planning and prepping for 5 meals that she was hosting in December. Each meal, she would be cooking for 40+ people. She had her menu planned out AND what and when she was going to prep ahead of time in order to excute these dinners without breaking a sweat. I was in awe of her organization. I was also inspired. I have been wanting to cook some different things for my family and maybe, just maybe, I will actually PLAN on that. I plan eveything else in my life, LOL.

After my meal planning session, we baked homemade bread. The dough had already risen once. We prepped it to rise again and later that day we put it in the oven. It was SO GOOD! She gave me different bread recipes along with some recipes for different desserts and casseroles. Then we cooked and served lunch. It was a full meal. After lunch she talked through what she would make for dinner.

After cleaning up from lunch, we went back out to the farm. I don't know what the process was called, but something was going on that day with breeding bulls. I think... :) I got a chance to see some cow or bull eggs under a microscope that would be implanted at a later date in order to produce more. Yeah... all the technical terms have left me. But, you get the point. It was a pretty neat thing to see.

Afterwards, we went back to the house and went upstairs to wrap Christmas presents. She shops all year and wraps as she buys them. It was super fun listening to Christmas music with her and wrapping gifts.

My day was JAMMED PACK. I enjoyed every minute of it and learned so much. But, my FAVORITE, was all of our conversations through the day. I got to here stories of her childhood, her newly married life, her journey into motherhood and being a grandparent, her family traditions, her traveling journeys, and more. I was so BLESSED to have so much WISDOM poured into me that day. It's a day that I'll never forget. It's a day that has shaped how I want to live a life of legacy. It's a day that I hope I can have with someone younger, when I reach her age. It was a God day!

Let me encourage you. Spend time with someone who is older than you. The generations before us have paved a road that we are privileged to walk on. Learn from them, glean from them, pray for them.

Before I left Ms. Aubrietta's that day, we prayed together. Talk about humbling. I was so honored to be able to pray for her that day. It was a moment where God blessed us with His tangible presence. It was amazing. You may not have a chance to spend a day with my Ms. Aubrietta, but who is the Ms. Aubrietta in your life? Go find her and spend time with her. Your life will never be the same.

Ms. Aubrietta, thank you! Thank you for opening your home to me and your heart. I love you dearly and the time you spent with me that day means more than the words I can articulate to express my gratitude. You are a gift from the Lord. You are a gift to the body of Christ. I am a better version of myself becasue of you. Blessings! - April :)