2014 is on its way out as 2015 steps closer to becoming a new time at Addie Acres. I saw despair this past year, the kind that brings you to your knees and swallows you in tears. Death came to the farm and whisked away beloved pets, leaving a void that could never be filled. I lost my constant companion, my puppy dog Tribble, to a horrific accident. My knees ached from the tiny pebbles embedded in them from kneeling next to his fresh grave for days as I sobbed inconsolably. I thought my broken heart would never mend.
A few short weeks after I lost my dog, my full-of-spunk white horse Sparky went to sleep inside the barn, rolled over and trotted into heaven. My heart shattered again and I did not understand. I have enjoyed the fulfillment of seeing the secret desires of my heart come to pass on my small slice of heaven and to suffer losses one after another didn’t make sense.
However, the worst pain suffered, and lingers in my broken heart, was the sudden news that my bestie friend and big brother, Tommy, suffered a massive heart attack. I raced from Indiana to Florida in an effort to beat back Death and stave off that cold grip somehow. I arrived only to find he was put on life support so that what was left of his body could give back the lives to others through transplant.
I, along with Addie Acres in 2014, suffered, cried, mourned and shook fists at the heavens and those of earth asking, “WHY”?! Yet in the midst of unbearable pain, new life came with an unexpected birth of a baby llama. Right in the middle of my crying out, baby Promise brought a swell of joy, rare smiles and renewed hope. I expect that 2015 will be filled with just that…promise. I choose to replace flowing tears with unstoppable smiles. By faith, I will pray that the wails will turn into praise to the One who holds this little farm, my family, my animals safely in His hands.
We have suffered much this past year and, yet, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I am confident that my Father will take all the hard lessons and turn it around for His Glory. I will choose to get up every new morning, go to the barn, be greeted by my mischievous animals, turn my grateful face to the heavens, raise my hands towards the sky and thank Him for the pain. 2015, by God’s grace, will be Addie Acres’ year to emerge from the darkness and the valley of the shadow and to move to the top of a more blessed mountain.