As many of you know I have lived most of my life near a small country town.
I mean really small.
Our population is 1000, give or take a few. I don't actually live in town, but about 19km out of town on a farm.
Every day I travel into town for work, and Scott and Steph both go to school at the same school that Kym and I went to.
This photo shows the administration building of our school. We have about 350 students now, there were almost 600 when I went to school there. Our school is an Area School which means it caters for the town as well as the whole district.
And here is where I work. We sell Case IH machinery amoung other things. I've worked here 8 years now, doing the administration for the sales department and basically wiping the noses of about 15 salesmen. We have 6 branches around the state and 15 salesmen who don't seem to know how to open a price book, or an email.
There are several murals around our town. I love the way the emu and the kangaroo are guarding the door in this one!
And this is what greets you as you approach the town. A giant stack of sheep made from corrugated iron! Note the sheep dog in the right hand corner standing guard.
This is a very close knit community. I know every person I pass in the street. Sometimes it takes me half an hour to collect the mail because I stop and chat!
It can be claustrophobic living in this community sometimes. Not much happens that goes undetected. If you are having family or marriage problems, people know. If your farm is up for sale, or the bank has said to no to finance, people know. If you hit a kangaroo on the way to work EVERYONE knows! If your daughter has been sent to the reflection room at school (again) everyone knows.
On the flip side, if you are having a bad day people care. If you are having trouble with your teenagers, people care and pray. If you have illness or injury in your family people care (and they bake!). If there is a tragedy in the community, everyone cares, everyone hurts, everyone is affected.
In our fourth year of drought there are people in this community who are hurting. Some have left already. Some are giving it one more year. But everyone still cares for everyone else.
Sometimes it's annoying that people find out things about my family before I do...but I wouldn't swap this community for any place else in the world.
No matter where we end up, or what the future holds. This little town will always be home.
Lord I pray for every single person who lives in or near our community. I pray that where there is hurt you provide healing and where there is suffering you provide hope. I pray for our little town which seems to be dying before my eyes. I pray for rain Lord. Steady soaking rain which brings hope to everyone in a place like this.
8 valued opinions!:
I can definitely see the pros and cons. I think it looks like the pros outweigh the cons.
I'm praying for an end to your drought.
(kind of reminds me of the small little community of bloggers that we have)
It's taken me a while to see that the pro's outweigh the con's. We had to leave the district to really appreciate it. At Stephanie's age I couldn't wait to get out of the place, just as she can't wait now.
Keep praying for rain!
My dear friend ~ my heart is full and nearly bursting to see and read the post! The perfect ending to my day. Love the pictures and what you've shared. :) You've lived the life I always dreamed of, but it wasn't meant to be for me... There are likely 1000 people within a square mile of my house! Aaaaahhhhhh! Too many people... Driving in the country today was a huge blessing, but it always burdens my heart to see so many farms for sale (though I saw, at least, a couple I'd consider for myself if I just had a little $$$ to get me started).
Living anywhere has its pros and cons ~ and while I see how some of them would really drive you crazy now and again, you are so blessed! How I wish our lives were blessed in a similar manner... I probably only know about a dozen people in this neighborhood. And, maybe 100-150 people in our church of almost 2000! Yikes. Our church is nearly twice the size of your town ~ that's hard to wrap your head around...
Continuing to pray for rain. May God provide a good, steady soaking rain and bring hope to a people desperate for God's blessing upon their lives and livelihoods. May He provide springs of Living Water to your precious community that farms and lives are saved!
Love you, my sweet friend!
AND ~ I love the mural and the sheep! It would be a great joy to see them in person too... Oh, Lord ~ we know You are fully able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. We place our hope in You ~ and ask for Your blessing on Sharon's town, her family and the farm ~ and all the neighboring farms and the people who live in this area too! We rejoice in who You are and ask that You be glorified!
Oh Lord, please ~ Let it RAIN!
Sharon,
The town I grew up in and now have returned to was like that when I was young. Now it has grown a good bit and many times when I am in a restaurant or grocery I see no one I know. I really miss the small town atmosphere that we had but change is inevitable. It is still small enough that a lot of people know me by name and so it is good. I lived in Atlanta, Georgia for 16 years where you are truly nothing more than a face. I am glad to be out of that rat race.
Hope you are doing well.
Leah
Sharon, I hope and pray that rain is on it's way very soon. I wish I could blow our rain clouds down to your part of Australia! But, I'll leave that to God.
The idea of living in a small community appeals to me for alot of reasons that you mentioned... and like all things, regarding the town knowing all about everything, you gotta take the good with the bad; but, I would say, hands down, it would beat walking past the same people in your neighbourhood almost every day if not every week, and not getting so much as a nod of the head!!!
Your town looks just like a counrty town oughta - neat and full of character! Obviously, even with the hardships that people are no-doubt going through, there is a great necessity to maintain a sense of pride in where you live, especially to encourage and enable those who are struggling to keep their chins up. I'm praying that your town will get it's much needed rain and stay strong.
Blessings, Naomi x
Joanie: I know you would just love it here...but you know I love the city. I feel energised there. But I married a country boy, whose heart and soul is in the country so I have to be content with visits and shopping trips! Being happy is all about appreciating what you have. It's only taken me almost 40 years to work that one out!
Leah: our town has grown a little, but not to the point where I don't know people. There are people who I don't know as well (as in I don't necessarily know their parents, children, etc) but I can still put a name to every face I see in the street.
Naomi: Our town has been marked as a dying town in country South Australia. Our school is shrinking, our hospital is no longer able to offer all the services it once did (can't have babies here anymore). I'm praying that our community will thrive once again. Soon.
Sharon ~ such wise words. I am learning to be contented where God has planted me and to bloom and be happy! At least, the country isn't too far of a drive from where we live...
Blaine posted a couple links for you regarding Mt. Saint Helens if you want to revisit that post. Yes, it's still a live volcano...
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