By Lauren Schwab

Just when you are about to give up, you’re break through is closer than you think.

Terri Savelle Foy reminds me of this and it is what I hold to when the voice inside my head tries to make living a normal life appealing. That’s right, I am not normal and have never felt normal. Whenever I leave my farmland and venture into the outside world I can’t begin to imagine what life would be like living on the other side of the farm gate. Farming and all things pigs consumes our thoughts and actions each day. To be done with work at 5 p.m on Friday and not worry about animals, the work our physical bodies can take and the expenses our wallets can handle would seem like a vacation on a desert island. Even sitting here writing this, I feel so lazy because my dad is still out at the barn working late on a Friday night and will continue working seven days a week from before dawn till past dusk.

My dad is completing to the last detail what God has assigned him to do as God tells us we should do in John 17:4. Farming with my family is one of many assignments I feel God has called me to do. I also feel called to share my story, the stories of farmers and the stories of inspirational women who are completing their assignments. I want to share their stories because they remind me what is possible if we envision our dreams and act upon them. Sometimes our mind plays a game of war with our drive to make our dreams come true. We must talk ourselves into success instead of talking ourselves out of it.

This past Monday during the women’s Bible study I attend, we were given an envelope containing a Bible verse in it to us from God. Mine read, “I’ve made great plans for you. Plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for,” Jeremiah 29:11. I know God’s got my back. I challenge you to picture your life five years from now. What is it like? Is it the same as it is now or different? If you want it to be different, you must write down your goals to make your life just as you imagine it now. Don’t just imagine small, imagine big. What are you going to do to make you life different next year than it was this year? You can accomplish all you want to and more quicker than you think. Your mind is a powerful tool. We have the ability to be anything we envision. To be more we must become more and think ourselves into a greater state of being. Even Walt Disney himself was told he had no imagination in his early days and he is now considered to have been an imagination guru! You are what you think you are. We create your own reality.

My reality is I am the daughter of a pig farmer. I was born into this life, but it is in my ability to create the reality I want to for myself. I imagine our farm growing in abundance with healthy pigs to care for. I dream of pigs, literally I do dream of pigs! I dream of saving their lives though they really save my life. They give me life to complete what God has assigned me to do. I will love them as God’s blessings and I will create the life my heart desires. I plan to grow old and be known as the queen who reigned over her piglets with tender love and care. I will be known as a leader for agriculture and God all the days of my life. I will be known as a greater writer who’s words soften the heart and inspire the soul. My hope and prayer is that you will complete to the last detail what God has assigned you to do and be anything you want to be.