We want our kids to know a bit about farming, a bit about the way only the Lord can grow up the earth.
So we tilled up an acre, and invited some families, and the Cowboy read a book called
And on a Saturday afternoon we all came together out in the field and the Cowboy gave us all a little challenge before we picked the weeds and planted the seeds.
There's a few things we wanted our treasures to know before we began...
It's 3-fold really...
1.We don't own our farm. (psalm 24:1)
2.Farming is not about us. (Luke 12:15-21)
&
3.We don't make things grow, God does. (1 Corinthians 3:7)
It's our first year embarking on such an endeavor. We have a LOT to learn. We prepared the soil and put in a make-shift sprinkler system.
And when we went to plant the seeds on such a large plot of land, we weren't prepared for the wind whipping the dirt around or the littlest ones running up and down the field scattering the seeds.
We weren't sure how to lay the rows just right, and what needed what to properly pollinate.
We don't know if a single seed will sprout or if we'll find ourselves having to start all over with a new pack of seeds and a smaller, more manageable plot of land?
We don't know what our little community garden holds, but we know who holds our garden.
And maybe this will be a year of slim pickings or maybe this will be a year of bounty?
But the best part is the gift of learning that our Jesus holds it all in His hands. He gives and takes away and our prayer is that as our kids grow up in this place, they will learn to bless His name, no-matter-what. We hope that though our lives, through our planting and our raising up of chickens and treasures, they will see that no-matter-what, that their Jesus is trustworthy.
And we hope that in the process, they continue to live out their contagious child-like joy, as the play in the sprinklers, and come up the dirt road on summer nights with chocolate-dirt covered faces.
May I never cease to be thankful for the privilege of this place... where through both the giving and the taking away, He is graciously growing us all up into Himself.