Indiana Correspondent 

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Two Indiana women had trouble adjusting to life from the city to the farm, but they endured out of love for their husbands.

They also had faith, although shaken at times, that being a fish out of water somehow was God’s will for their lives.

Susan Hayhurst and Beth Gormong are now reaping the benefits from their struggles in ways that include the release of a book, “Growing the Fruit of the Spirit: 100 Devotions for Farm Families.”

Each of the writings leading with scripture contain amusing and interesting stories about their farm life experiences, an inspirational message and close with a brief prayer and calling.

Hayhurst said one thing she hopes readers learn is the joy that comes from venturing down the path they feel God has laid out for them and drawing closer to him to overcome the challenges along the way.

“The book wouldn’t be what it is if the test in my faith wasn’t reflected in it,” she said.

On a lighter note, she hopes people smile and even chuckle at the real-life stories about the unexpected happenings neither women imagined for themselves before tying the knot with their food-raising husbands.

Hayhurst, for example, wound up covered in hog manure one day then later accepted an invitation from the governor to sit on the Indiana State Fair Commission. She held a seat on the commission for eight years while her daughters were in 4-H showing cattle.

Especially difficult for both of them during their transition was getting used to living a more isolated existence. “I was used to having more people around and being able to get to things quicker whenever I wanted to,” Gormong said.

Hayhurst grew up in West Lafayette. Her parents were administrators at Purdue University where she met her husband, Terry, while they were going to school on the campus.

Hayhurst said she knew that he planned to return to his family’s grain and cattle farm near Terre Haute after graduating, but she was willing to go with him despite knowing it would bring drastic change in her lifestyle.

“I love my husband with all of my heart.  I knew that the Lord put me here for a very specific reason. I know that way more now than I did at the beginning,” she said.

One of her devotions is titled “Bloom Where You’re Planted.”

That devotion was inspired by Hayhurst forcing herself to adapt to a new way of life and later reaping the fruit brought from her determination to stick it out. It took a while but she began embracing how the agriculture industry really focused on family.

Her love for the lifestyle grew even more because of the time she and her husband were able to spend with their daughters traveling to cattle shows locally and across the country.

“The memories are fabulous for all of us. I enjoy the cattle now as much as Terry and the kids,” she said.

Her faded love for writing as a freelance journalist also rekindled when the doors opened for her to become a contributor of articles to farm publications.

Gormong grew up in Frankfort, a city of about 16,000 residents in the central part of the state.

She and her husband, Jeff, met while they were attending Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion. He also grew up on a farm outside Terre Haute.

Gormong said he was studying to become a pastor, though, and took a clergy position outside Detroit after receiving his degree.

Gormong said her winding up on a farm came as a total shock three years later when, suddenly, her husband returned to help his father after one of his hired hands left for another job.

Her father was a pastor and she felt it was her calling in life to continue in ministry. Now, she was under the roof of a century old farmhouse just a few weeks after giving birth to a daughter.

She was also surrounded by hogs along with a couple of thousand acres of corn and soybeans.

“It was just like a rude awakening,” she said.

Initially, Gormong said she was excited about the prospects of living in the country, but then once she got there realized it wasn’t the dream world she imagined.

“I didn’t like the smells. I didn’t like being so far away from town,” she said.

She wasn’t thrilled either about her encounters with ticks and other insects that come with living on a farm.

Gormong said she also didn’t enjoy feeling like a “single mother” when her husband worked especially long hours during the planting and growing seasons.

She even began questioning why God took her from the ministry and placed her on a farm.

Eventually, her attitude began changing by the quality time her husband was able to spend with the family during the off season.

Her appreciation grew further after giving birth to two more daughters and him making enough money for her to be a stay-at-home mother. She also took a liking to the bonding that occurs when other family members working on the farm live nearby.

Gormong felt she was over the hump in her adjustment until her pieced back together faith was tested one more time. She was informed what was supposed to be a temporary move to the farm was going to be permanent.

“It took me a long time to settle in that this is our life,” she said.

At some point, Gormong said she accepted the long-term direction her life had taken and felt peace when God later seemed to offer more assurance she was on the right path.

After her children were grown, she began working as a church secretary.

She also wrote two books while taking similar jobs at other local churches.

Gormong and Hayhurst, who lived about a mile apart from each other, also became friends.

Just over a year ago, Gormong said she applied for an opening at a Christian publishing company and received the job.

The opportunity presented itself just as her husband was ready to get out of farming because of health related issues that come with age in a physically demanding job.

They now live in the Fishers area outside Indianapolis.

Gormong said she feels like it’s her time now to do what she wants but has no regrets about the path taken to get there. 

“It was a beautiful experience. I wouldn’t want to have spent my life any other way,” Gormong said.