Old Farming Faith

Well it finally hit over sixty degrees today around here and the snow continues to disappear and the mud continues to deepen. I get growlier than a griz with his toe in a bear trap when this happens. Wearing knee high rubber boots and again the weight of mud hanging on em, tires a person out! But in a few day or else a few weeks that’ll all be history. Then again I hope there is some mud in summer, wouldn’t that be something we haven’t seen for a long time! It sure was something being outside this afternoon without a jacket though! That was the first time in a long, long time. Very little wind and even the clouds were like summer clouds for the first time this year.

Like I said, I get growly. Quite a statement from a Christian eh! Well, at least I ain’t a liar! Must have something to do with waiting to really have at it around here. Its different than the regular working world where folks head to their jobs and look forward to the weekends and planning some vacation that they figure will make them happier than they are at the present moment. In this lifestyle, (which by the way was the way life was from creation till just a few short years ago), its more real. A family farm is totally different than what the world considers normal. Here as the seasons change one knows the jobs that must be done and looks forward to them. There is no time clock, there is no boss, its up to you to get doing things and nobody else. When a person gives a job to the kids here they’re expected to accomplish the job. And with all of this there’s church. Church isn’t a social event, and I can honestly say I don’t give a hoot what anyone thinks of me when I go to church. Sometimes I go there more tired than should be allowed, but go we do. Not because of religious reasons, just because we want to get fed the Word and we want to worship our King!

I took a night off from the studies tonight, been pounding em out for the last few weeks. Sat down before and just picked up one of my old Foxfire Books and that really brightened me up! Those old ways really get me going and even this morning Brad talkin about cookin moon, (for the gasoline engines that is), has reawakened me to the possibilities of the stuff we do around here. If there’s a corn crop this year I’ll very seriously look into it! Feed the mash top some hogs and get some of that good pepper bacon made up, life is good! Take care of our own family and just generally enjoy life! These last couple of years this has been my greatest quest. To balance life out like they did years ago, faith, family, farm and friends. To be truthful its almost impossible to do anymore as far as friends go. To much sucked up in the world nowadays I guess. Everyone is so busy running to and fro doing basically nothing.

Nowadays even church is a hurried up thing. Go for this and go for that. I wonder what it’d be like to have an old fashioned Holy Ghost service? With luck the sound system would crash and someone could belt out some songs on the piano and guitar, or any other instrument handy. It hurts me allot reading about years ago in those rural churches. I just wish…..

Born in the wrong time I guess. I was reminded today while working about my vision, what I was led to pursue these last couple of years. And somehow went off course because of the droughts. Forgetting what I dreamed of doing because of the day to day struggle of just keeping the cowherd going with and impossible amount of feed. Forgetting the dream of a Gospel Barn and bringing the Word to a whole new set of people. So wrapped up in day to day stuff, I almost lost er! Forgetting that the farm can reach many, many people that would normally not be reached any other way. Just because of the two year disaster I had almost forgotten what was on my heart so strong. But that memory came back today, strong and is pulling me out of my dumps. This is the environment I thrive in! This causes the heart to leap!

Yup, that mud will be a memory in a while and there’ll be calves on the ground, allot of work, good work! There’ll be gardens to put in, fields to till and plant, hay to make. Pastures to tend and all that goes with that. Life is good! Workin on the farm with faith in our Lord! Gotta shed the world’s programs, failed programs and get back to what is really real around here. Stay in those Bibles every single day, build that faith till it runneth over! And listen to some good old music just generally enjoying that old fashioned faith! Its good enough for me! I ain’t never been anything else but a farmer, even years ago when I worked out a few years here and there. I get a funny feeling that’s what I’ll be till the day I head on home to meet Jesus in person.