Jenny Marrs: ‘Optimism Is A Gift Always At Our Disposal’
By Movieguide® Contributor
HGTV star Jenny Marrs is finding joy and encouragement in her day-to-day life.
“We call picking up after the dogs ‘tootsie roll patrol’ (I don’t know – does everyone call it this?),” she began her Instagram post, a video of herself and daughter Charlotte cleaning up after some of their farm animals.
Marrs said hours of work left her feeling “defeated,” adding, “We had worked so hard for two days and the mounds were still as far as the eye could see.”
“Charlotte looked right at me and matter-of-factly stated: ‘Well, at least we don’t have an elephant,’ she continued. “In that moment, my back (currently recovering from a herniated disk) ached, my hands were raw and my toes were freezing, but, I forgot all about the physical discomfort and laughed from a well of deep joy.”
Marrs encouraged her followers not to “forget that simple, innocent optimism is a gift always at our disposal.”
Marrs’ caption continued:
Cynicism and bitterness creep in over the years and whisper the lies: you’ll never make a difference. The problem is too massive, too complicated, too hard for little ole’ you to tackle. Who do you think you are?
And we stop before we start.
If you truly feel a call to step forward into something that feels way too big or too scary or too fill-in-the-blank, just remember: at least you don’t have to clean up after an elephant.
Just start.
Start with the one pile in front of you then move to the next then the next. Eventually, you’ll look back and a whole section will be clear. And, you WILL make a difference. Because, maybe, the objective wasn’t what you thought it was. Maybe, you weren’t even out there to even clear the pasture but you were there to create a lifelong memory with your girl. And now, for the rest of your days, the two of you will encourage one another with a simple sentence when faced with a hard problem in life.
Marrs often finds inspiration in her work on the family farm. A video about moving their sheep to a new pasture saw her reflecting on trusting in God’s plan.
“Sometimes, I can be just as stubborn when God gently calls me to a new pasture,” she wrote. “Because I only see the road ahead as new and scary and would rather stay put in my old, worn out pasture because it’s comfortable and safe. Instead of simply trusting the leading of my Shepherd who can see far beyond my current sight line and knows of all the abundance and goodness ahead.”
Marrs continued, “If you’re facing the move to a new pasture today, take a deep breath. Trust and take one step forward. Then the next. Embrace the call to run through the gate toward His voice with courage fueled by simple, honest trust.”
In another post, Marrs wrote about her love of the animals on their farm, as well as the fact that her children “have grown up surrounded by four-legged friends who love them unconditionally and who teach them about responsibility and caring for God’s creatures big and small.”
