Although I do have a legitimate reason for being terribly late with this post; I must warn you, it will sound incredibly familiar to the age old excuse "Honest, teacher, the dog really did eat my homework!" I won't mention names, but there was an incident involving the computer charger and Kai's water bowl and it was definitely lacking in the happy ending department. Once the last percentage of battery life ebbed away we were laptop free for almost a week. This simply meant less netflix, more card games and considerably less election drama! However, we finally broke down and bought the new charger. $80 later.. or, since we now think in terms of coffee, 50 pounds of cherry later, I can update my blog! And a pumpkin spice latte certainly made the purchase more pleasant, thanks to my sweet husband!
[this is how Kai chills on the stairs]
As for our week:: we logged another five days of picking! We also called up every one of our Hawaiian contacts in attempt to find coffee pickers, but apparently we're not the only ones up to our eyeballs in cherries! There is hope for some help at the end of this week, but we're learning to believe they'll come once they're actually IN the fields, picking! So far we've managed to stay on top of things but we're rapidly approaching the point where neglected cherries will start to spoil and resign themselves to 'raisins'. Not good.
I was clinging to the hope that once we crossed that 5000 pound line I would have developed killer shoulder muscles and lightning quick fingers. Alas, that line has been crossed and this is not the case. The cold, hard truth is that I'm just not a very, speedy picker! I do my best, yet my husband still manages to lap me on a regular basis. The cause for this may be tangled up with a slight case of OCD on my part when it comes to picking every single red cherry.
Derek bought me a picking belt, though, and that's certainly helping with the soreness factor. Depending on which body parts are complaining I can alternate the belt with the shoulder harness. I've also learned to dump my basket before I start feeling my life expectancy dropping! (And, apparently, before the over-dramatic side of me rears its head!) We're only about half way done, though, so there is hope for my skill level to improve. 'Most Valuable Picker' award, anyone?! (And I will hold on to my sculpted muscle fantasy for a little while longer!)
So, what do we do in our 'free time'?? One evening this last week found us on the beach with our Dairy Queen blizzards and a beautiful sunset! Other nights we take turns massaging sore muscles and end up sleeping half the night on top of the covers because crawling underneath would require considerably more energy than we possess. We've started going to a great, mid-week Bible study! Derek's in the beginning stages of making his own surfboard! My 'quick run' one night turned into six miles.. what?! And Kai is learning how to catch, we're so proud :)
[my favorite sunset of the week!]
I've started dropping to my knees first thing in the morning to spend a few uninterrupted moments with God. Whether I'm simply basking in the love of Jesus or surrendering everything already swimming around my brain, competing for attention- it is an awesome way to start the day! Just one or two minutes dramatically affecting the next 24 hours! I've never been one to say you have to pray a certain way, for a set time or with specific words. But some routine can be beneficial and if anything should be constant in my life I'd say communication with the One who's got the plan is definitely top priority!
A lot of pondering went on this week. What (or where) in the world is next? What should we do after harvest? How can we best bring glory to God through our lives. Coffee farming, although an incredible adventure, might not exactly be utilizing our full potential. Not to mention, we'll be spending all our earnings on chiropractic adjustments if we keep up this lifestyle! The lessons we've learned from this experience are invaluable, but now we are seeking God's will for the next step. We have yet to arrive at any earth shattering conclusions, but we're realizing a brand new chapter is just a few pages away! And God, because He knows me incredibly well, is sending little reminders my way. Don't over-analyze. Don't get ahead of yourself. Definitely don't worry! Live today while it's still today. Whether through the Bible or a devotion book I happened to pick up, God's subtleties became pretty obvious as the week progressed and the potential for stressing out increased.
[yep, I think he's pretty cool!]
So, we live life. We pray a lot, trusting God to lead the way, and keeping in mind that 'advance notice' isn't always His style. We're ready and excited. James 4:14 says we don't even know what will happen tomorrow! We are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes! Stressing about next year seems kind of silly in that light! So, we surrender. We keep picking. We hold everything with open hands. We have a bonfire with friends on a Saturday night! We soak up every bit of the beauty around us, enjoy time with our 'family' here and listen for the Spirit's leading.
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