God Created a Farmer

I don’t know if it’s the “preacher” voice or the beautiful words.  I don’t know if it’s the pictures that bring back memories of growing up in a farming town…the beauty of the land, the weathered hands and faces of neighbors and friends…the talk of harvests and crops and rain and animals.  I suppose it’s all of those things and more.

It’s the blessing of the food and the abundance of God’s love for us.  It’s the gratitude I feel when I take a minute to think about farmers and their commitment and their patience and their grace.

It’s because I’m in awe of their quiet, gentle way about living. They know the land and the sky and the wind and the sun and they honor all of them.  It’s because they accept the ebb and flow of life and harvests and because they keep doing what they do in the good and the bad years.  There is hope in that acceptance and it is beautiful.

This commercial came on last night and the room fell silent.  It’s the contrast of a graceful voice – gentle but strong – talking about God and farmers – juxtaposed against Beyonce and her amped up sexuality.  It was a moment of grace in the middle of the spectacle.  The noise stopped for 2 minutes and we paid attention.

We honored this commercial and in doing so, we honored the farmers and our God who created them and continues to sustain them.  If you missed it, watch it here now.  If you saw it, watch it again.  If you were in a room full of people that didn’t fall silent and you don’t know what I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and watch.

Take a couple minutes to remember and to thank God and to thank the farmers.

 

Amen.

They say one of the greatest fears of people today is that they will live an ordinary life.  That they will not be famous or well known or rich.  That their lives will mean nothing unless they are played out on the world stage.  It makes me sad that our society supports and perpetuates this lie.  It makes me even sadder that there are times when I have also believed this lie.

There are times when I write this blog and hope for more hits and more views and more subscribers thinking that all of those things will make me a “real writer”.  I’m ashamed to say that there have been times that I have been jealous when other writers are published and I am not.  I would love for one of my posts to go viral and for me to get tons of publicity and recognition.  I am embarrassed to say that I have looked outside for affirmation knowing full well that I only need to write for an audience of One.

I know this is it.  My opportunity.  My real life.  I know it’s my time to sow – to write and to pray with people and to encourage others in their faith.  Whether it’s one person or twenty or twenty million…that’s up to God.  I will write for Him.  And then I’ll take a lesson from the farmers.  The lesson about Hope…and commitment and acceptance.

My dream is to feed with my words like they have fed with their hands and their hard work.  I will write so maybe my words are the quiet 2 minutes for someone in the day that is a spectacle.  I will write so they hear grace and gratitude amidst the hyped up sexuality and violence of our culture.  I will write so that for a few minutes, there is no noise and in the quiet…they can hear God.

If one person hears the voice of God through something I have written or something I have shared, if one person opens a Bible for the first time or falls to their knees in prayer,  if one person understands and really gets it that they are not alone and they are loved…then I have reached His dream for me.  That dream that is bigger and better than all the others…the dream that is deep in my heart and will bring real, lasting joy…the dream of feeding His people…of sharing the Bread of Life…of bringing nourishment to a hungry world.

©2013 Sue Bidstrup, Great Big Yes™ All Rights Reserved