Stewardship and Answered Prayers

There is abundance in our lives when we learn to recognize it.

Here in New Hampshire, we’re enjoying a balmy 40 degree Fahrenheit calm before a snow storm that will bring single digit temperatures on its tail. I’m sitting in the keeping room with the baby, enveloped in the scent of the fresh sourdough loaves cooling in the kitchen, with a view of the backyard and the woods where the rest of my family is making the most of the weather. My older kids are constructing a rope swing while my husband begins a big project we’ve been talking about ever since we moved here three years ago. Flashes of hi-visibility orange catch my peripheral vision as he moves about the edge of the forest, chainsaw in hand, slowly gaining ground against the encroaching tree line.

We sit on nearly 3 acres of woodland that borders an old granite quarry. The story goes that this was once part of a larger farm, and in 1850, the family built our little Greek revival for the grandmother. Since then, it’s been home to the town postmaster and two other families before the keys were handed to us. The forest has claimed 2/3 of the property, and is overgrown with many dead or dying trees. Classic New England rock walls snake through the pines, oaks, and maples, and quarried granite blocks pepper the landscape amongst a host of young beech trees that are thriving in the understory - we believe to the detriment of our sugar maples.

Our goal is to convert this unhealthy forest into productive silvopasture, where orchard and sugaring trees will provide shade for livestock. It’s a project we know will take time and intention and likely some professional help, but we’re finally taking action. Last week we walked the woods, analyzing the landscape to determine the best places to begin. The most efficient starting point appeared to be the fence that lines our backyard. Here, the beeches have run their roots under our barrier and shot up offspring which threaten to choke out Ryan’s fledgling orchard. I can see the smile on his face as one by one he turns these threats into a resource. Their thin, straight trunks will be repurposed as fence posts or building material. The kids cheer as each felled tree is added to the lumber pile. They’ve even begged a length from him to serve as the seat to their rope swing.

It’s these moments, I realize, that we dreamed about and prayed for in the beginning of our marriage. Back when we were in a duplex with a shared backyard, trying to grow our family, Ryan had a dream where I came in from our garden with freshly harvested veggies and a burgeoning belly preceding me. Last May, that vision manifested as I spent the better part of a day laboring in our deeply mulched beds, sowing squash seeds between contractions. Two days later, I toured those same beds, our fourth child in my arms.

Now I gather her up in a blanket to check on the progress outside. We are greeted with satisfied smiles, excited to share the fruits of their endeavors. My kids have put aside their routine sibling squabbles and, as a team, demonstrate their new apparatus. My husband stands beside three piles of conquered trees. As I enter the new clearing, the light, even in the overcast sky, is brighter. Our land has grown!

In my last letter, I mentioned that 2025 would be the year of action and progress. However, another word has been pressing on my heart - stewardship. In a way, it’s similar, as it includes action and progress, but stewardship is something bigger. It’s about taking whatever you have been blessed with, being resourceful, and caring for it to the best of your ability. It’s about being content in your situation and seeking to make the most of it.

In Matthew 25: 14-30, the Parable of the Talents speaks of three servants, entrusted with varying amounts of money in their master’s absence. The two who received larger amounts used their allotments to make more money and were rewarded upon their master’s return. The third, who was given the least, hid theirs out of fear of losing it, thereby making no gains in wealth or favor. I’ve felt much like the third servant when resources are thin - the desire to hold onto it so as not to lose it - only to wallow in inaction and dreams which are never truly pursued. The Scarcity Mindset pervades and holds us captive.

Stewardship is about embracing the Abundance Mindset - dwelling not in what we can’t do because of X, Y, and Z, but focusing on what we can do with what we have. We have been given what we need to make progress, to make improvements. We need to be content and grateful for these resources and be creative working with them, rather than spurning the tools we have and lamenting over the ones we don’t. (Again, talking to myself.)

So we move forward with that word on our hearts and the challenge set before us. Are you in similar place in your life? How can we steward these gifts and answered prayers well so that we may present them in the end, more valuable than before?

Until next time, much love,

Briana

P.S. The new paid subscriber updates will begin soon! The first letter comes out in less than two weeks, where I’ll reveal our big goal for the year.