How We Came to BFE. Part II

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.”   

Psa 37:3 (RSV)

Land in the High Desert to which we were to dwell.

GIVE IT UP:

It was at this moment I just gave the whole situation up to the Lord, and continued my daily search as new rentals appeared online daily. I expanded my search outside the greater metropolitan area and particularly liked the rental agencies that used pin-point maps to denote their rental locations. And then one day... out of the blue (not to be confused with Boise State BLUE)... there it WAS!  A PIN... LOCATED OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! AND THE PRICE WAS WITHIN OUR BUDGET! OOOHHHH, but then...... my excitement halted... No garage (just a small shop), and only a 2 bedroom (there were 4 of us!). Oh well.... cute place tho! (deflation of emotions) And continued searching for property locations.

SHOW ME!

As was our new routine, hubby and I met in the quiet of our bedroom to discuss the new prospects of the day.  I jokingly mentioned the “little two bedroom out in the middle of BFE.” I had really expected him to say: “not enough bedrooms.”, and/or “there’s no garage!”, and/or rounding out his comments with a “what are you thinking wo-man!”  (A comment I don’t mind hearing because that means that I’m “thinking outside the box.”) Instead..... he said: “Show Me!”  “WOW! Really?” So I pulled up the map and the pix of the “little house in the high desert... in the middle of BFE!”   I was surprised at what he said next: “Let’s go look! It can’t hurt to go look, can it? It will be an adventure!” So I scheduled our next available time to view the house the next day after hubby got off work. 

THE MIDDLE OF BFE!

We sat on the front porch steps and hubby said to me: “You hear that?”... a long pause. We smiled with our eyes closed. It was if I could read his mind! After a few moments I replied: “Yea....”, and at the same time we said “NOTHING”. Oh but in that moment I could hear everything and nothing at all! 

I couldn’t hear the yap-yap beanie babies any more, but I could hear the birds chirping. 

I couldn’t hear cars driving by, but I could hear the wind whistling through the trees. 

I couldn’t see people walking down the sidewalk, but I could see a family of quail as they scurried across the lawn.

I had no fear of someone lurking over our back fence, but I knew that wild animals thrived beyond the property line. 

I could see for a long ways off... 50... maybe 100 miles off in the distance! Mountains on several sides and miles and miles of High Desert range land! Only a few houses dotted the landscape, and few with a road between them.  This felt sooo good. Like going camping in the mountains on a weekend. I could imagine us coming home to this place EVERYDAY! What a dream! It was ‘too good to be true!”

THE PAUSE & CONFIRMATION!!!

“Oh, but wait! There’s not enough room for us!” Trying to think of what the hubby would say next as so not to have my hopes set too high and then be let down.....

“We’ll make due! We will just have to trust in the Lord that this is were he wants us to be, and I feel strongly that this is it! This is the place! Pack your stuff ‘darlin’ (he makes fun of my souther accent sometimes),......... we’re moving!” 

And Our “Adventures in BFE" began!!!

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Daisy Mae Wants to know: 

Have you ever ‘side stepped’ and event, a thought, or an action (maybe having turned it over to the Lord) only to have it ricochet and come back to you with Amazing results?  
Tell me your story!

How We Came to BFE. Part I

“I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and danger from false brothers.”  2 Corinthians 11:26

Urbania USA. Their Ain't No Pot-O-Gold!

HAS IT BEEN 2 YEARS ALREADY?

It’s that time of year again. The first Saturday of October for the past two years, the owners “fly home” to see their family and to inspect THEIR property (aka: BFE). It may be “their property,” but it’s “my home” and lucky for us the owners see it that way too!  I can’t help but think to myself that when they come for their annual visit (and spend hours ‘chatting’) that they are glad to have renters who love this place as much as they used to when they were younger. Not that they are “old”, but it’s just that they are a tad older that us.

IN THE BEGINNING:

Two years ago after only being married for a little over a year, my husband and I decided that we no longer wanted to live “in the city”. We had lived in "Urbania USA” all our lives in one way shape or form.  Always within several miles from a grocery store or gas station, and usually within several hundred feet (10-20 feet in most subdivisions) of our neighbors. Now this was great when we were raising our children because we could open the front door and say “go play” and they would be gone for hours at a time. (and YES.... neighborhoods like THAT still existed 10 years ago, and may still for as much as I know in Idaho.)  But in a very short period of time we saw some of those neighborhoods who were clean and alive with ‘play’ became dirty and lifeless. 

THE CHANGE:

When the housing bubble burst in 2008, a lot of homes in the subdivision became vacant and fell into disarray. Graffiti began to appear on the fences and sidewalks and there was a drug busts just down the street.  “TIME TO HEAD FOR HIGHER GROUND!” my husband announced. And so the search began: To relocate “some place else.”

THE SEARCH:

As the dutiful wife (not always, but this was an area of which I seem to have excelled in my life... I’ve moved over 40x - and finding new places to live is like finding a new store to go shopping in... always adventurous!) 

I began an internet search of rental properties close to where we were currently resided and spread out from there. (at this point you are probably wondering ‘why rent?’ when “You own your own home, right?!”  Well thats another story for another day... I can’t get sidetracked now.... “sidetrack” is my middle name... which is better than “I want.” A title given to me in my younger years.) OK... where was I: Yea... I was house hunting. 

THE REQUST:

My parameters were very clear: House, Garage, at least 3 bedroom, NOT in a subdivision, preferably “out of the way”, “off the beaten path”, with some flat property to grow a garden. All of this for the wonderful monthly rental fee of....... well not much.  After further research.... for about as much as you could rent a two bedroom apartment in town. Not very promising, right?

THE DISMAY:

Our prospects of finding a house in this price range was almost null. I began to loose any hope of finding a way to exodus our situation.  At the end of each day the hubby would ask me to share the results of my daily search. We had both become discouraged about our prospects.  Things I liked about a place, he didn’t like and visa-versa. We had only ventured out once before to look at a rental property and it was a ‘shared space’ which did not appeal to either of us. I was feeling defeated and trapped by our circumstances. It seemed as though we were “trapped in Urbania!”

Dunt Dun Daaaa.....

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Daisy Mae Wants to Know: What was the catalyst that caused you and your family to want to relocate to BFE?

Maybe you know someone else who has “lost their mind” and “move to BFE”.  

Please share what you think their reasons could have been. What is your opinion of their ‘move’?

What is BFE?

WHAT IS BFE?

We have lived in the High Desert of what we affectionately call BFE for over two years now (stay tuned as the story of how we came to this place will unfold in the days to come!)  “What is BFE?” you may ask.  And most people DO ask that A LOT. I’ve been so shocked to hear of how many people DON’T know the meaning of that infamous acronym of ‘ol.... OR is it that they just want to see if I really know the meaning?... OR....  maybe they just want to lure me into saying a dirty-four-letter-word? AH-HA!... Nope! Not gonna say it... (not in public anyway!)

WHAT I SAID:

When a man eats at a famous fast food burger joint he says (with a deep voice): “Leave me Alone, I’m eating.” 

Now, whenever I feel like being on the computer to write, I can say (with a sassy voice): “Leave me alone, I’m Writing!”   DM

THE WHY....

I’m starting this blog with the strong support and encouragement from several of the ladies in my local community. Bible Study Gals at that! (BSG’s for short.) If we had a church way out here in BFE I guess I could call them “my fellow church ladies” but then two or three of us who are old enough to remember would be rolling on the floor laughing hysterically with visions of Dana Carvey and Saturday Night Live flashbacks! “REAAALY, Well isn’t that Speccccial!” 

THE THANKS:

So first and foremost I would like to thank my fellow BSGs’ for their continued support, constant laughter, and tolerance of phone calls when shots ring out in the night. But more about THOSE adventures another time! 

BACK TO THE MEANING OF BFE:

Most individuals know of the acronym of BFE when referencing a geographical location: “way out in the middle of nowhere”, but wait..... Wouldn’t that be “WoitMon?” 

So after being questioned so many times: “What does BFE stand for?” I thought I might as well start my Blog off my rectifying the question before we go any further. 

I went to the website: http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/BFE where I was quite surprised at the multitude of duplicity of my favorite three letter acronym which could be quite entertaining to discuss on a rainy day. 

But for the purposes of my Blog, here/today, what I found to be most applicable.... the “polite version” of our “Adventures in BFE” phrase will be: “Bum Freak Egypt.”  Translated into 'southern' is "Bumb Frick'n Egypt" (my native tounge). Even tho Egypt is on the other side of the world... I think you can catch the drift here. (If you are still unsure... let me know and I can spell it out for you... I know who you are!!!)

Our family has come up with their own versions of the three letter acronym, but as a parent I feel that I must “protect the innocent” and stay silent. We’ll just keep the aforementioned definition to be on the safe side!

So I hope you enjoy the days and weeks and hopefully years of “Adventures in BFE” as I report the “ongoings of the insane and slightly loony” , reflecting on the past, while I look to God for guidance in this Adventure we call Life!

Love & God Bless,

DM