It’s a beautiful Sunday morning here in Fort Worth. The weather folks are predicting hundred degree-plus temperatures for the next ten days, but the porch was blissfully peaceful and cool in the early morning. Every August I’m determined to retire from the farm, but it’s time for Fall planting so I’m once again dreaming of getting the Fall crop to our neighbors and getting back to work.
Margaret and I spent a week with my stepson Paul and his wife Nicki in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our vacation got off to a bit of a rough start when I had to spend our first night there in the ER. It turned out okay and we were off the see Northeastern Iowa where my wife had lived and Paul grew up. It’s beautiful country although I was thinking to myself “if you’ve seen one field of corn or soybeans you’ve seen them all”. Then we came to the bluffs overlooking McGregor, Iowa and the Mississippi River. The vista before me was unexpectedly beautiful and made the long drive well worth it. I’m a lousy photographer but I took a lot of pictures to remember our time there.
I’d originally intended to write about our travels while Nicki and Margaret were having their “girl’s day out” the next day. Unfortunately, my laptop crashed while I was in the middle of writing and left me unable to get online. I was extremely displeased with the situation at the time, but as the days went by, I discovered what a blessing it is to be unplugged from my devices for a week. No daily bombardment with depressing news stories and no interruptions and distractions – just enjoying time with my family, listening to great music, and relaxing.
It was a fifteen hundred mile round-trip, and I spent the drive time talking to Margaret and reflecting on the many blessings that have showered down from, as St. James says, “from the Father of Light”. Gratitude has become a staple in my life. I’m under no illusions that I’ve “made it on my own” or that what I’ve been so graciously given that I’ve worked for. It’s all a gift, and an undeserved gift at that. That’s how grace is defined and everything is grace. How can I be anything but grateful?
I’m not oblivious to the fact that we’re living through exceedingly trying times. It’s a constant onslaught of division, attacks on anyone defined as the “other”, and difficult economic times brought on by people who could care less about folks like me and you. I’m not spouting some Pollyannish BS about how it’s all going to be okay, but gratitude reminds me that “it’s all going to be okay”. I’ve already been given so much more than I deserve or could have ever imagined. How can it be otherwise?
It doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do either. I’ve come to realize how many good people there are around me. It’s easy to forget that loud and hateful can be countered with quiet service to our loved ones and our community. We all have a part to play in building the community God intended for us. Part of that work is coming in November. One vote may not feel like it makes difference, but thousands of votes speak louder than one can imagine.
I’ve learned that gratitude isn’t simply a noun or a warm and comfy feeling, but a verb, a word that demands action. The more grateful I am, the more I love and serve others – the more I become a part of the community I live in. I’ve also learned the value of unplugging from the digital world and plugging into daily living and working with the other folks I’m so grateful for. Sometimes it takes a vacation from the day-to-day routine to remember that. Sometimes it takes a vacation to remember how important the work we all do is for each other.
In closing I need to say thank you to some special people who made this last week possible. Amir, thank you for taking care of the irrigation while I was gone. It’s been an unbelievably hot and dry August, and the farm never would have survived without your hard work. Amir has been a vital part of the farm for the last couple of years and I’m so grateful for your friendship and love for the farm. Jay and Vicki, thank you for keeping Opal’s Farm Stand open for business while I was away and for all the work you do to serve the Opal’s Farm community. Thank you to all who’ve chosen to be a part of Opal’s Farm family.
“So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all His creatures”. (James 1.16-18 The Message Bible)
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