You could have Fooled Me!

Rose Allen McCauley

I know girls who said they would never marry a farmer—mostly farmer’s daughters! But, since I had no experience with a farm except my great grandparents’ farm where I remember visiting once as a child and seeing my Mammy chop off a chicken’s head, which caused me to not eat chicken for a very long time after that! (funny side note…now chicken and turkey are the only meats I like to eat!) And, I planned to become a teacher, and teach at Portland Christian School in Louisville, KY.

But, God has a great sense of humor, and the one guy I fell in love with while in college was…you guessed it—a FARMER! We met our freshman year, and started dating a few months after, then got married in May of our sophomore year of college, and moved to a trailer on a piece of land my husband had bought while in high school, knowing he ALWAYS wanted to farm full time.

But, God still had other plans in mind, as my husband got the call-up for his draft physical not very long after we married, so he joined the Air Force eight months after we said, “I do.” Then, he left for basic on April Fool’s Day, a month and a half before our first anniversary, so the top layer of our wedding cake remained in his parents’ freezer (tightly wrapped, of course!)

So, we spent our first anniversary in 1969 (and several more) apart, with him in Texas for Basic Training and me back in KY teaching school. Still no cake! In 1970, he went for his first deployment to Thailand in March, so no cake again, until in May of 1971 he was back in the states stationed in Myrtle Beach, so we ate our dried-out cake! He also had one more deployment to Thailand, but not during the month of May! The next two years weren’t much better for anniversary dinners, but at least we were together. In 1972, the whole base was on-call on May 11^th where the guys had to have their duffels packed and sit by the phone until 9 o’clock that evening. We finally went to a steak house, and Chester ate a big dinner, but I didn’t want much so late at night. Then in 1973 he was discharged in April, so we could go out for an anniversary supper, and he ate a good dinner, but I was pregnant with our firstborn, so was too sick to eat anything!

Finally, in 1973, we moved onto the 200-acre farm we purchased while he was in the AF, (another joke on us—we were allowed to walk around on the farm, but could not get into the house until the day we moved in!)  We lived there and raised three children for 42 years, and my husband got to finally see his dream come true of being a full-time farmer. He raised beef cattle, hay, corn, and tobacco. For health reasons, my husband has now semi-retired, so we moved to a small town in KY a couple years ago, but he still goes back several times a week to our old farm (which our daughter and son-in-law bought from us) plus drives to our son-in-law’s farm several more days each week to work there. Our son and his wife live in a small town, and both of our girls and their husbands have chosen to raise their children on farms, so I think we did something right. None of our children went into farming, but our son-in-laws both farm plus hold down other full-time jobs, which seems to be more common nowadays, and the girls and children help out too. Farming is a great way of life and a great place to raise kids, and I thank God for the blessings of a close family after raising them on a farm.

Looking back, I can see that God had a much better plan than I did, and I wouldn’t want to change anything! He has blessed us much more than we could have asked or imagined! (Ephesians 3:20—my fave verse in the Bible!)

Rose has been writing for over a decade and has six books published. A retired schoolteacher who has been happily married to her college sweetheart for over forty years, they enjoy their growing family of three children and their spouses and five lovely, lively grandkids! She loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website www.rosemccauley.com or twitter @RoseAMcCauley and Facebook http://on.fb.me/1LrXNoS

Rose is a contributor to an intriguing-looking and -sounding book titled, Destination: Romance, and she is giving away a free paperback copy!!! Leave a comment for Rose and be entered to win. I will draw one winner on Friday, November 17th, 2017, at 11 AM EST from the commenters.

From a cave in the hills of Missouri to a sandy beach in Grand Cayman, romance blooms for five heroines when they least expect it.

Bare Feet and Warm Sand BY Kim Vogel Sawyer

Marine biologist Tamiera is determined to protect endangered sea turtles against man’s intrusion. When Joe arrives on the island of Grand Cayman with plans to build a resort near the turtles’ nesting grounds, will she be able to convince him to put the needs of God’s creatures above making money?

Sufficient Grace BY Constance Shilling Stevens

An abandoned Cherokee burial ground keeps secrets and draws a picture of deep, enduring love for Nora, but land surveyor Donovan threatens the place that holds sweet memories for Nora’s grandfather. Will Donovan follow his boss’s orders or follow his heart?

Better Together Than Apart BY Rose Allen McCauley

On a K-Love cruise to Jamaica, Natalie re-connects with Ken, a boy she met six years earlier on a high school summer mission trip. Attraction stirs, but opposing goals threaten their romance. Will they listen to God’s leading for their best place of service?

A Shelter in a Weary Land BY Julane Hiebert

A cave in the Missouri hillside was to be a shelter from pillaging Union soldiers for Charlotte and her unborn babe. But will she be safe when a wounded enemy seeks the same place of refuge?

Cotton Candy Sky BY Kristian Libel

When a Kansas girl falls in love with the ocean, she thinks nothing could be more exhilarating than life on a beach…except maybe falling for a traveling photographer who introduces her to more adventure than she’d ever imagined. But is their connection one that can last, or will their time together simply remain a fond memory as they go their separate ways?

(Pssst–I am hanging out on Rose’s blog today too, and I’m giving away a copy of Callum’s Compass, so please go check it out and leave me a comment to be entered to win!)