Our youngest attendee of the retreat and future HarvestHER, Belle. Belle’s mama was Kristen and was highly encouraged to bring Belle along if that meant she could come. We hardly knew she was even with us and was always the center of attention!
I feel like I need to follow-up after the posts from the gals who attended the retreat with a simple thank you. But even those two words aren’t nearly enough. So…here goes.
This vision I had to bless the women who work so hard and rarely take time for themselves came to me a few years ago. I know several reading this post would raise their hand if asked who I shared this crazy idea with. I don’t know why it came to me and I don’t know why it wouldn’t go away. I tried to ignore it. I tried to say, “Send someone else” but the voice was persistent.
“Okay already!!! I’ll just DO IT…BUT, God, if this is from you, I’m counting on you to help me. Give me courage to step out of this boat and have the faith to know You will be leading me through every detail. You know what details I’m talking about – finding the right place, finding the funds necessary to make it happen, find the gals willing to take a chance on this and making sure everything comes together”. This conversation between me and God occurred often.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3
Last fall, after researching online, I found the perfect location – and it was only 20 minutes away from my home. Each remaining detail kept coming to me at sporadic times. Sometimes even waking me up during the middle of night, only to push, push, push until I would finally get out of bed and write it down. All pieces of the puzzle were given to me until it all came together on April 13.
How am I going to pay for this? I didn’t want anyone to have to pay an arm and a leg for a weekend getaway. There’s been times that I thought some of the conferences I see offered would be fun to attend but I couldn’t justify spending the money to attend. It just wasn’t feasible. It just didn’t make sense to our checkbook.
Quite a few emails were sent to hopeful helpers with this detail. I still have the two-page list with more “No” than “Yes” written next to each name. Some I never even heard back from. Disappointment? Sometimes. I would remind myself, “If this is from God, He will make sure I have enough”. I had enough. The sponsors who believed in me sent exactly what I needed. Many thanks to New Holland Ag, MacDon Industries, BWS Manufacturing, Calmer Corn Heads, Custom Harvest Insurance, Honey Bee Manufacturing, INSPRO Insurance and Braathen Harvesting. At the last-minute, NAFB (National Association of Farm Broadcasters) and Nebraska Wheat Board graciously donated items to give to the gals. Thank you for believing in me and what I wanted to provide these amazing women! I honestly could NOT have created such a wonderful event if it hadn’t been for your help!
Not only did these sponsors donate money, they also helped me create excitement for the event by providing items to give away on the HarvestHER Facebook page. I was able to have a giveaway on the site for seven consecutive weeks. How cool is that? I still have enough to continue giving items away on the page throughout harvest.
The number of attendees I had in mind was 25. All along, I wanted to be able to house these gals in one location, under the same roof and, ideally, in a house. My idea was to create a slumber party. You remember the kind we used to have when we were 10 years old? We gathered together, had fun playing “Twister”, or playing cards, or doing whatever young girls do prior to eating pizza and snacks and then attempting to go to sleep. And then NOT sleeping because of the stories we each shared. We would laugh and cry and cry and laugh – sometimes all night long.
And guess what? That’s EXACTLY what this weekend was. We gathered, we laughed, we cried, we shared our lives, we played, we shopped, we cried some more, we shared some more and we loved. We came as total strangers and left feeling like we were telling our sister goodbye. Sisters…kindred spirits…that’s what we are, right?
According to Urban Dictionary, the definition of kindred spirits is:
“Kindred Spirits are two people that make a special connection by sharing a bond that has joined them by the means of an experience that has drawn them together on a higher level of consciousness. This connection can be from the same experience at the same time or two separate experiences similar in nature.
If two people were in a dramatic situation and had to depend on each other in order to get out of the situation or one having to help rescue the other, they would become bonded as kindred spirits. Oftentimes, a couple will meet that had both come from very bad past situations in a relationship; a bond is then reached because an understanding of what the other had been through where they feel no one else truly understands, through this they have become kindred spirits.”
While planning this event, I heard this verse, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:10 This sounds very much like the definition of a “Kindred Spirit”.
God had a different plan than mine. I just knew it would be easy enough to fill 25 slots with women who were willing to enjoy a weekend of pampering. Wrong. Ten women registered for the weekend with one saying she would try very hard to make it. Was I disappointed? Nope. I knew it would be the right number and God would make sure the ones meant to be there would be there. However, the blizzard in the north and the wildfires in the south on the same day meant even less would be able to attend. All at once, the number was down to eight (including me). Well, dang! A reassuring “voice” kept telling me it would be just fine, “trust me”.
When I read the recent HarvestHER updates posted by the gals who attended, they thank me and my hard work. It wasn’t me. Everything came to me. It was all set up and planned long before I finally agreed to just do it. It was a success because what we experienced wasn’t from me. It was from God and He intended to bless these women through the retreat all along. If you go back and read their stories, you’ll see a common denominator. They were all apprehensive to come to something that was unknown. And they came from so far away! To be honest with you, I’m not sure I would have spent the money they did to attend something they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. But they came…“Build it and they will come”. They listened to that ever so gentle nudge telling them they needed to.
I received this note from Kristen a couple of days ago. Kristen rode along with Laura. Neither of them even sure why they were coming to Nebraska except they knew they needed to come.
Hey Tracy!
I just want to say again Thank You for all the work you went through to put together such a fantastic weekend. Never have I ever felt so accepted attending an event where I didn’t know anyone except the person I came with. Right from the start of telling Laura I could attend the weekend with her, I was excited and I was never let down! I still can’t get over what a great group of women you all are and how real everyone is. I truly felt the presence of God with us last weekend! Hanging with HarvestHERs was exactly what I needed, my soul is rejuvenated, uplifted and happy and ready for harvest (even tho my harvest isn’t exactly what you all do)! Thank you!!
See…what did I tell you? It wasn’t me. It’s nice to know that I created something that was so well received but I can’t take credit for any of this. It was all God. I was just the vessel He needed to make it all happen.
Did you notice most of the pictures used in the posts were from someone other than the writer? There was a reason for this. We were so wrapped up in the weekend and being present, our phones were very rarely held in our hands. I had to remind myself to take pictures and video so I could share when it was over.
Where will this go from here? I don’t know but I know the One who does. I also know these gals are talking “next year”. So, I will start this all over again and watch how it unfolds for 2019. But, I honestly believe this…we were created to be relational and social people. We have fallen away from finding reasons to be together – especially women – to share our lives. The connections we make with others give our life meaning and fill us with joy. It’s all about relationship. And that’s why I’m doing this.
I honestly believe we need more quilting bees. You know what I’m talking about. Those blankets stretched on a frame requiring someone to bind the layers together, stitch by stitch. All the while these stitches are being sewn, there’s conversation. There’s lives being shared. There’s tears being shed. There’s wisdom and experience being spoken. There’s laughter…oh, the laughter! That’s what we need more of. And more slumber parties!
In the meantime, I will remain hopeful that we’ll see each other again somewhere along the summer journey. And if not, we all know who’s got our back – each other and the One who brought us together in the first place.
Laura sent this selfie to me after she got back home on Sunday night – back to the routine of being a wife, mama and HarvestHER. Still wearing her beautiful smile and that Calmer Corn Head Hat!
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".
