Land of Milk and Honey? ~ True Preparedness

When we purchased our farm, I had "dreams of grandeur"… I was imagining orchards full of peaches, bursting with purple plums and rows of sweet apricot trees. 

However, there were only three sources of fruit on the property. They were figs, pomegranates and grapes.

My husband kept mulling these plants over in his mind and proclaimed them "wonderful".

He reminded me that when Joshua and his men went to spy out the promised land, these were the three items that they brought back to showcase it's prosperity.

Moses told them to research and find out "what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land."

~ Numbers 13:20

"And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs."

~ Numbers 13:23

"...they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it."

~ Numbers 13:27

What we are continually learning is that "dreams of grandeur" take work! Sometimes it is downright discouraging. The tractor breaks down, rain delays, animals die and crops sometimes fail…We are in constant need of those inspired words to be "of good courage".  We have to realize that the land of milk and honey isn't heaven but the earth we have been blessed to live on and subdue. Our hope for perfection lies only in the next land to come for those who love Him. This is ultimately what every homesteader needs to be "prepared" for.  Are you ready?

"Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

~ Revelations 21:1-4

Shared at: The Homestead Barn Hop