Allowing Ourselves to Receive in Divine Timing

Not When We May Have Planned

A dam inspires this fortnight’s story. A dam good dam, I must say. My neighbour calls this dam Lake Burley Griffin, which is a huge lake near Canberra in Australia (pictured below). Mine is nowhere near that big - nowhere! But still, her nickname for it makes me laugh.

One of my long-term intentions was to have a dam with an island in the middle. This is something I’d always imagined when dreaming of living back on the land in a rural setting. The island would be for ducks and other life to find refuge from foxes and whatever other predators lingered.

When I bought the land I now live on, that image of a dam became clearer. When we moved here last year, it remained.

But it was a long-term dream - something I would get to one day, long after an extensive list of other large steps to work through gradually before it.

The dam was not a priority!

But here’s the thing:

Life wants us to be happy and supports things that contribute to that.

It wasn’t until I was living here that I truly realised just how many wild creatures also share this space. And … how much joy I would experience living amongst them.

The original tiny dam on my place dried out recently and wildlife numbers dwindled. They went to lower lands in search of water. This forced my hand to get some quotes for the cleaning out and expansion of my dam – years before I’d intended to. I had reached a point where I couldn’t live without the joy that all the wildlife adds to my life.

We often live in longing for rain here, for both the land and to get our tanks filled for the survival of the household. Recently, a cyclone up north brought loads of rain to our region, from about 500kms away. Our land was one of the only patches to receive very little. But as a result, I jumped a 3 – 4-month queue with the earthmovers, as all their other clients were swamped by too much rain.

Once digging, they hit rock almost immediately but found a better space a short distance away. So they closed up the old dam and built me a whole new one. And, it’s huge! It has a fabulously large island in the middle and cost about a third of what my long-term dream had imagined. It was still a large investment, but now it’s done!

And … within three days of its completion, we received the heaviest rain we’ve had in the nine months of living here so far! The skies opened, allowing the dam to settle in and even retain some from that first rainfall. It’s nowhere near full but it’s on its way … and the wildlife are back.

Something I thought would be years in the making is now complete. The whole process was smooth and easy. A whole new ecosystem has been created. I can only be excited in how many creatures this space will support, particularly in such a high location far from any creeks or rivers.

Life knew how important living amongst wildlife is for me, so orchestrated a smooth process to see the dam project unfold now rather than later. I could have resisted it, justified the expense and made other things a higher priority.

But sometimes, we just have to get out of our own way and trust whatever life is blessing us with at the time.

It knows our deepest longings.

I never thought a huge dam was one of mine, but in hindsight, having a reliable water source for the wildlife absolutely was.

Sometimes we’re blessed with surprises long before we think we’re ready for them. The trick is to get out of the way and let them through.

With love,

Bronnie.

PS. The most recent vlog shares the start of the dam project, as well as some of the wildlife I share this space with. Tune in to make this story even more relatable for your own dreams. There’s even a sweet koala to meet. This episode is only a short one, 12 minutes, but may very well plant some great seeds for your own heart’s longings.

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