Why We Chose a Simpler Life (Even When Life Is Busy)

If you had asked me twenty years ago what my future would look like, living on a farm in rural Nebraska would not have been my answer.

I grew up in a small town just outside of Omaha. It wasn't a big city, but it wasn't country life either. We had enough space to ride bikes and play outside until the streetlights came on, but we weren't raising livestock or planting gardens. While I had family who farmed and raised cattle, it wasn't the life I knew every day.

After high school, I headed to college in a larger city with big dreams and even bigger plans. My goal was simple: graduate, land my "big girl" job, and build a successful career anywhere but Nebraska. I was chasing what I thought success was supposed to look like—the next promotion, the next accomplishment, the next step up the ladder.

But God had a different story written for my life.

During my senior year of college, everything changed.

I was diagnosed with cancer.

Instead of beginning the future I had carefully planned, I moved back home to begin treatment. At the time, I couldn't understand why everything seemed to be falling apart. Looking back now, I can see that God wasn't taking something away from me—He was gently leading me toward something far greater than I could have imagined.

Near the end of my treatment, I met my husband.

One date turned into talking every day. Before long, I had married my best friend—a fourth-generation farmer—and together we've built a life that younger me never would have imagined. Today we're raising three beautiful daughters on the farm, caring for cattle and ducks, tending a garden, and learning together what it means to build a life rooted in faith, family, and hard work.

The funny thing is, I think God planted a love for country living in my heart long before I ever realized it.

For years, though, I kept running toward what the world told me mattered. Bigger titles. Bigger opportunities. Bigger ambitions.

All the while, my heart quietly longed for slower mornings, open fields, meaningful work, and a life centered around the people I love most.

Cancer became the unexpected pause that changed everything.

It slowed me down enough to hear God's voice more clearly. It brought me back home. It introduced me to the man I would spend my life with. And it opened the door to a life that has become richer than anything I could have planned for myself.

Do I have everything figured out?

Not even close.

I'm still discovering the purpose God has for my life. I'm still learning to surrender my own plans and trust His timing. Some days that comes easily, and other days I have to remind myself that His ways are always better than my own.

But I've stopped chasing the version of success the world says I should want.

Instead, I'm choosing a life that's deeply rooted—in faith, in family, in community, and in the simple blessings God places in front of me each day.

That's what Rural Rooted Mama is all about.

It's not about having the perfect farmhouse, the perfect garden, or the perfect routine. It's about learning to find God in the ordinary moments—in muddy boots, morning coffee, little hands helping gather eggs, quiet time in His Word, and the beautiful, messy work of building a life that honors Him.

If you're longing for a slower pace, a deeper faith, and encouragement to embrace the season God has you in, I hope you'll pull up a chair on the porch. I'm so glad you're here.