There is no denying that the United States is in crisis. We are the sickest we have ever been at any time in history. We are the most addicted we have ever been. We spend more on healthcare than any other country; with little to show for it. We allow chemical additives in our food supply that many other countries around the world have banned. Our food contains less and less nutrition as we continually produce more bushels of corn, wheat and soy on our depleted soil.
The industrial revolution gave convenience to our grandparents who were used to doing everything for themselves. They were all in for more powerful tractors, faster cars, cheaper clothes, more convenient foods, things that made their lives a little easier and gave them a little more time to spend at leisure. No judgment here. If you were part of that generation, you would be too. We didn’t know then about BPA and microplastics and micronutrients missing from depleted soils. All they knew was that it took less time and less money to feed their families and provide for their needs. But we know where the endless pursuit of convenience, leisure, and profit has led.
Today we are returning to our grandparent’s roots, to the lifestyle they were raised in, but had forgotten. We are painstakingly relearning a lifetime of knowledge that was lost in just one century. We are pursuing a life that harkens back to a garden rather than a concrete jungle. We are searching for what is real, and raw, and deeply satisfying versus what is quick and fast and cheap. What we have found is more than just healthier food. We have found a better way of life. We have found peace and healing in intentionality. We are learning that it is ok to live with less, and that sometimes living with less means finding more than you had ever dreamed of.
Returning to homesteading in the United States of America is rebuilding the foundation that was so quickly eroded in the convenience era. It is rebuilding mental toughness in us. It is developing a sense of responsibility for our own wellbeing again. It is building resilience and character in our children. It is rewarding work ethic, creativity and passion in our young people. It is restoring pride in our work, pride in our communities, pride in our nation. It represents the return to what is good, what is beautiful, and what is worthy of our time and energy. It is the return to slow and steady, the return to family, the return to honoring our Creator and His design for us.
The truth is, we have it the best of any generation to walk the earth yet. We have the modern conveniences of electricity, the internet, iPhones, fast food, and Amazon’s same-day shipping; yet we get to choose how much of it we will indulge in. We decide when it benefits us and when it doesn’t. We have the ability to limit it before it starts to control us. If only we want to. If only we are willing to pry ourselves off the couch and begin building something worthy of our sweat, blood and tears.
If you are somewhere on this journey, you are part of this movement. No matter if you are planning your first garden or your 100th garden, or you just made your first meal ever from scratch; you are part of a positive change in your home, in your community, in your nation. Keep learning, keep growing, keep embracing the hard thing in front of you. You are part of the future of America.