I have a friend who has a farm. He and his wife live on land that has been in the family for decades. They use tractors but also use draft horses for a lot of the heavy work. This is such a throwback. In a time of instant gratification, I admire my friend’s infinite patience with these gentle giants.
Plowing a field is not as easy a task as you might think. If a field has never been plowed before, the sod as well as the underlying root system has to be broken into and cut up. After it dries a bit, it is disked then harrowed. This cuts the clods of dirt and roots up into finer and finer pieces. A seed would get lost and fail to grow properly if planted before the ground is prepared correctly.

Walking this grief path is much like cultivating a new field. Death breaks this new ground wide open where nothing can grow. Slowly but surely, time and effort breaks down the soil till even the smallest seed can germinate and become a strong plant with deep roots. To give this new life a chance, you need to tend to the field. You need to water it and fertilize it. You need to keep the weeds out. It takes work to get from one season to the next.

Be a good farmer.

❤️

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 7:12 NIV