amish country or manhattan?

One upon a time, a long time ago, in the early 1990's, my husband and I stepped out of a train, on to a  platform in Grand Central Station - NYC and our eyes were opened up to the fact that there is more to life than Amish Country, USA. I talked about that adventure here.

 

For many years since that adventure I have had this longing deep inside of me to live in Manhattan for one year and soak in the culture, the arts, the lights, the sounds, eat the food, shop the stores, observe the holiday traditions of the city and roam the streets and take in the architecture and all the city has to offer.

 

After leaving the Amish and being shunned, so much of me felt lost and shattered and during those times my longing deepened to go live in the city. The reality was, though, that we were raising two children and we didn't want to uproot their lives more than they already had been uprooted and my husband, ever the "realistic one" in our relationship would never consent to sell everything and go start over in another town or city as this would have been the case, not even for a year. The adventure would have been too great a sacrifice for our family.

 

So, for years I sat on my longing for adventure in the city and we would visit it periodically over the next 20 years or so. We are long overdue to visit it again, this year it will have been five years since we last visited Manhattan and our friends who first introduced us to the city.

 

 Years come, years go.

 

Life changes.

 

Hearts also change.

 

There was a time when I could not see the beauty that surrounds me here in Amish Country. The city lights beckoned too loud, as did the pain of having been shunned and ridiculed for being different now.

 

"Different is defined by what I wear and what I drive, and the church I attend."

 

The day I allowed God to heal my hurt and pain, the day I forgave the Amish and understood that they can't help what they do because they don't know how to do life differently is the day that I was able to finally see the beauty that is in my surroundings. I live in the country, deep in the country, and the city lights no longer beckon so loudly. Although I would still ABSOLUTELY LOVE the chance to live in Manhattan for a solid year, I am completely content where I am right now.

 

"Why are you content", you ask. 

 

Because my contentment comes from no longer holding grudges and feeling slighted by those who mistreat me. My contentment comes from having forgiven and I know my life is not my own to live. I live for Jesus, he is my Lord and he is my comfort and my light, he is all the adventure I need and for that reason, I am content and settled right here, deep within Amish Country.

 

Since I have given up my "will" and "wants" I have had more little adventures than I could ever have dreamed up. I have been shown over and over and over again how much natural beauty and adventure I have right there at my finger tips. I just have to notice my surroundings.  

 

Let me try to explain.  

 

Yesterday morning I picked up my great aunt, Beina, at my parent's home. She is 97 years old. In May she will celebrate her 98th birthday. She is still so "with it" for her age, she grows more feeble and has a bad hip and her eye sight and hearing are leaving her but she still enjoys life. She has been really cooped up this winter because of the weather and so she hasn't gone to church and other functions because my parents thought it better to stay home than risk falling on ice and breaking something.

 

Knowing how cooped up she has been I decided to take my camera along yesterday morning and after I picked her up we set out on a little adventure before we arrived at my home for the day.

 

Each morning I watch these little ponds on my way to my 8-5 and I've been wanting to stop and take them in one day, and so that was our first stop. I left my car running, heat turned up, made sure the car was parked so Beina would be able to take in the scenery and I slid out of the car, camera in hand and I took the following pictures, and more.

 

(If you click on the first photo, it will open into a gallery and you can see more details in the pictures.)

 

Of Ponds and Canadian Geese

 

 

A total of three sets of Canadian Geese were playing around on the lower pond yesterday morning.

 

 

One of the couples. I love the water in this picture. Small ripples, it was really chilly yesterday morning when I was out there. The geese didn't seem to mind the cold weather at all.

 

 

A larger view of the lower pond.

 

 

A shot with the dock in the picture. Two couples are in this picture.

 

 

Someone is "fishing".

 

 

This was my favorite shot of the morning by the pond.

 

As I snapped it I said to myself, "money shot". Not that I would ever get money for it, but I was so tickled to have clicked at just the right time.

 

How beautiful and majestic!

 

On we went, Beina and I, on more adventures. We stopped in the parking lot of a roadside produce stand I frequent in the summer and again, I made sure Beina could see and I got out of my car and snapped a few pictures.

 

 

Maple Syrup Cooking Shanties and Farm Dogs With Noses to the Ground

 

 

Hidden in the woods is a small shanty and in a few short months this shanty will be disguised  behind the leaves on those trees. Maple syrup season is upon us and you see more and more trees tapped for maple sap than in the last few years prior. I suspect because the winter has been hard and cold the maple sap harvesters figure the harvest will be plenty this year. I hope so for all their hard work.

 

 

Another shot of the shanty.

 

 

One thing I noticed, and took a bunch of pictures of, was the dog in the field in front of the woods. His nose was almost over-dosing, he had his little nose to the ground and was all over that field in the time we were sitting there taking pictures.

 

Amish Country Scenery and Objects.

 

 

A farm off the road a ways. I like how the windmill is peeking up over the barn, I almost felt it "wink" at me.

 

 

This farm was tucked away up pretty high on a hill. I pulled it in on my camera to get a better picture of the buildings, but it is up there a ways. I love the lone tree in the foreground. I also noticed the windmill on this farm and the smoke coming out of the chimney.

 

 

As I stood there looking at this view I was delighted to see how this view made it almost seem like this was a little village. These homes are all mostly nestled along the same stretch of winding road, but through the trees they look more like a village. I love the red barn with green roof through the trees. Fun picture for me.

 

 

Beside the ponds where Beina and I stopped for a long while, was this house. The Amish man was carrying his baby to the house and I got a couple pictures of them walking away from me. I try not to be too in-your-face with my camera. If you click on this picture you will see the baby's face peeking out of the blanket.

 

 

An Amish "pickup". It has a bench for the driver and passenger to sit on, and the back part has racks to haul livestock and other things, like the barrels you see in this picture. I like to call it a "pickup".

 

 

Amish buggy flying down the road. They are coming off of a hill and the horse was running. I love this picture for some reason. Maybe because you can tell the horse was running by the position of his feet in the picture.

 

 

This "pickup buggy" looks like it was parked in a hurry.

 

An Amish Parochial School

 

 

I will probably get a print of this picture. I just love the starkness and the "pioneer" feel it holds for me. This school is still running, but I'm surprised at how neglected it looks. I think it is a "Swartzentruber Amish" school. They are a little bit more "sloppy" than the Old and New Order Amish. No matter, Beina and I enjoyed our time here, observing, chit chatting about all the elements of the school we noticed.

 

 

We noticed the very, very dark blue window coverings. How dismal these windows looked to us. Beina thought the school itself needs a coat of paint. I agree. Honestly, it depressed me a bit to think children still attend school here. How dark their lives must be.

 

 

The barn where the scholars can tie up their horses in when they drive them to school. I noticed in the mud there were a lot of buggy tracks. Behind the barn is an outhouse and beside it is a swing set. How much fun is it to swing on swings and have to smell the smells of the outhouse?

 

I wonder if the children even notice???

 

 

The school bell hanging in the gable of the school house. Birds were flying all around there and a few settled there to observe their surroundings. I suspect that gable gets a nest or two of birds each year.

 

 

Another outhouse beside the school house. I suspect this might be the girl's outhouse, but not sure.

 

 

They also have the "luxury" of having a water pump. I love how it looks there in its surroundings, but am afraid it might be the only source of water those kids have during the day.

 

 

 

 

The only "new and not dilapidated" looking thing we found at that school house was this softball backstop. There is a road right at the edge of those trees and so the kids have been afforded one new thing that I could see, probably mostly for safety and to protect the cars traveling the road from stray balls. 

 

Beina and I experienced all these sights in less than two hours.

 

What an adventure.

 

What a blessing to sit and listen to her observations on the different scenes we came upon.

 

A few years back I would have missed all this if I had not learned how to forgive and move on with my life. I would have continued to feel disdain for the culture I come from and would have continued to long for experiences and live in discontent rather than experience where I live.

 

There are areas in my life I'm not happy with, areas where I do not thrive and tend to feel bored and tossed aside, but I'm content. Content to wait on God, to see what he has for me next. I know he has a plan for me and sometimes we have to experience boredom to appreciate when something adventuresome comes into ones life. These days I chose to look at every minute detail as an adventure, a gift from God himself. I would hate to miss one thing, one moment, one conversation, one morsel of life that God meant me to notice, to experience, to enjoy.

 

I don't believe that "adventure" is the ultimate goal in life, but I do believe adventure is a gift from God, straight from his hands, he plans out each little detail for us because he loves us so much. We just have to pause in our busy lives to notice and accept those moments.

 

Beina

 

 

I cherish each of my conversations I have with this lady, she has connected me with my past like I've never been connected to before. She has shared so many of her memories with me. Once she leaves this earth that generation is gone and none of us will ever get to go back in time like we can now because she is still here with us. She has told me a lot about her sister Anna, my grandmother. I cherish every morsel she has shared with me over the past couple of years.

 

 I'm so glad she was with me on my adventure yesterday.

 

It made my whole day sweeter.

 

 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:11,12

 

I praise God for showing me what contentment looks and feels like. I chose to die daily to my own whims and wishes. I trust him for my every need and longing these days. Life has become better and holds more meaning to me since adopting this way of living. I would still love to experience the city life, going to see more Broadway shows, eating the food, shopping the shops, walking the streets and checking out the architecture and on and on...but at this moment, I am fully content living in Amish Country - USA and experiencing each morsel here.

 

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Looking in my Rearview Mirror