Borders

The Lord brought an incredible picture to mind this week about the significance of borders/boundaries.

In early June I set the stakes and put up fencing around my entire garden. I established a border of nearly 400 ft of deer netting, 7-ft tall on 10-ft stakes, intended to keep the deer from my plants. Yet, every few days throughout the summer I've been out there repairing the fence. Winds have torn down sections of it. And deer have apparently knocked down other sections. In some cases it seems I just did a poor job of tying it up, and I find it sagging and penetrable. It's been a constant effort to reinforce the border.

As long as the fencing stays in place, my garden is safe. And yet with every intrusion, I lose something. Corn torn from the stalk, tomatoes nibbled off the vine, lettuce trimmed to the ground -- not to mention the damage to the fence. Frustrating! And so I go about repairing.

In similar ways, the Lord has established boundaries for our lives. Relational. Spiritual. Financial. The borders are for our safety and well-being. We experience joy and freedom when the borders are where they should be. And yet, the winds of life and the enemy of our souls push in on those boundaries to disrupt and to steal. Sometimes it's even our own lack of attention that allows the gap.

What I know is that it's up to me to reinforce the borders. It's up to me to repair the breaches and be watchful of any intrusion. Sometimes it's tiring, and I'm tempted to let it go. However, peace and safety come only when I'm safe within the borders.

"He grants peace to your borders..." Psalm 147:14

Critter Chronicles

One of the huge challenges "down on the farm" is battling an ever present critter population. Prior to my moving in five years ago, the house sat empty for nearly a year. So, the animals took their cue to move in.... especially the groundhogs. As a matter of fact, several times in the first year I had to deal with them in my basement!!! Those varmints chewed right through the basement door and made themselves at home inside.
It's really incredible the damage these small rodents can do.... damage to the house..... and damage to the barn....

Needless to say, it's a constant battle to try and eliminate them. That's why I jump for joy whenever I can catch one! The count is up to 69 in five seasons -- groundhogs, possums, raccoons and even a couple of skunks. I wonder if the battle will ever come to an end, or if I will be fighting critters as long as I live here. Guess all I can do is set the cages and hope someday I'll write "The End" on my critter chronicles!!

Harvest time

It was a good night!


After contacting the local food pantry to offer some produce, I prayed that the garden would have a good variety of veggies to pick tonight. I was delighted to find cabbage, bell peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, hot peppers, tomatoes, onions and potatoes -- all ready to pick!!

What a wonderful encouragement after the struggles of the past week. I'm excited, and can't wait to hand these off in the morning!

Ah, I think I'll sleep well tonight. Thank you, God.

Nevertheless

Life on "my canaan" is interesting, to say the least. There's always a challenge to face or a story to tell. Sometimes the challenges come fast and furious, and that's the way it's been lately.

Beyond the normal daily tasks and responsiblities, unexpected challenges seem to be at a rat-a-tat pace. Recent storm damage to my east porch and deterioration to the west porch, and I now find myself needing to replace both. My magnificent massive maple trees threaten the house and garage, and need to be trimmed and/or taken down. The critters are literally gnawing away at the buildings and invading my garden, my 7-year-old truck needs repair and..... last night I struck a stump with my riding mower and broke the blade . Arghh!!!

NEVERTHELESS.....

These things aren't going to bring me down! Although challenges abound, nevertheless God is in control. He has always provided in the past and he will provide in each and every case of need.
It causes me to think about the power of that word. Nevertheless...
It's all about attitude. It's not Scarlett O'Hara's lah-dee-dah attitude in Gone with the Wind... sigh... "tomorrow is another day." It's a powerful word and a strong resolve, a word of purpose and steely determination.

NEVERTHELESS. What a great word!

So... this week I'll call the tree service, lawn mower repair, a contractor and a mechanic, set my critter cages and face a new day!

 

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

— Viktor Frankl, Nazi concentration camp survivor

"You Feed Them"

It began in the winter with a couple of words from scripture that seemed to ring in my ears. One here, and one there. I didn't really notice at first. But then my pea brain began to see a trend. "In the morning, sow your seed..." (Ecc 11:6) "bearing seed for sowing... " (Ps 126: 6) "reap with songs of joy" (Ps 126:5), even a quote by Martin Luther: "If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would nevertheless plant..."

Hmmm. Sow.... plant.... reap....

As I chewed on these words, a thought began to take shape. With the recent economic crisis affecting our nation, there was a deep desire in my heart to reach out to those in need. Blessed with a couple of acres of land, this was something I could do! I could plant and give vegetables to local ministries and food pantries.

Once I really took the idea seriously though, doubts crept in. I had never done this before! How would I know what to do? How would I find the time, the money, the energy?

And then, one morning in April, I read this devotion written by Randy Kilore in Made to Matter:

Well, I heard the Lord loud and clear! I copied the page and pasted it in my journal, and I planted!! Twenty-one rows of vegetables on nearly a quarter acre!!

Thinking it might be an encouragement to him, I wrote Randy Kilgore and shared how his words had impacted me and moved me to action. His reply is one of the most remarkable emails I have ever received:

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Thank you so much for sharing this news with me, and more than that, for being willing to share with others. It is a remarkably moving and unbelievably meaningful act. I'm deeply humbled God would use my words in this way, and willingly and delightfully I give Him all the glory and credit for even the selection of the phrasing.

I remember many nights, years ago, when as a boy I'd be playing at a friend's house while his mother was cooking dinner. The smells wafting through the air made me sad because I knew my dinner would be lettuce with heated up bacon grease used for dressing. On good nights we had hot dogs, but that was a rarity. Too proud even as a boy, I never accepted invitations to eat over at my friends' house. It didn't seem fair for me to eat so well when my two brothers wouldn't; it was easier to do without. Those nights without food, and days and days of hunger, still haunt me. At the time, they left me feeling like I was somehow less important and less deserving of the things everyone else had, and while I wasn't old enough to think it was God I was less important to, that's the place the hungry go in their thinking.

So when you share your food with others, let me promise you it will be giving them more than sustenance. Not all who receive it will be grateful, and not all will see it as coming from the hand of God, but most will, even if they only realize it later. Some will be forever set free from the idea they are less important to God merely because they're not hungry. It's why that passage in Matthew 25 appears so often in my writings... "hungry and you fed me..." I know with certainty that food becomes tangible evidence of God's love even to those who refuse to admit they're looking for Him to love them.

You've given me a gift that exceeds my ability to express gratitude. Somewhere out there in the crowd of unseen folks who will be the recipients of your efforts is the ghost of a 9 year old boy, grinning ear to ear as he watches somebody else get something he longed for so long... God's love expressed as tomatoes, cucumbers and peas.

Warmest regards in Christ,

Randy

A Gardener's Front Row Seat

No wonder Jesus often used agriculture to teach life lessons. In my first season of "farming," I'm seeing the power of his teaching through fresh eyes.

The third week of May, just after the threat of frost, I planted. Tiny vegetable seeds--cucumbers, peppers, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.--sprinkled on the ground and covered with a light layer of soil. Within just a short time, shoots began to sprout.... and so did my excitement! How did that happen? How did those tiny seeds become the tall, beautiful rows of vegetables I now see? It's certainly been a lesson to me to see the smallest seed grow large and bear fruit. It's been incredible to behold!

And then last weekend, the garden taught me another amazing life lesson. A summer storm blew in from the west and pounded the property. With little protection, the garden took the full impact of the wind. After it passed, I walked outside to find the cornstalks flat on the ground!! The wind had knocked them down completely. Having never farmed before, I expected the worst... that the corn was ruined. Nine long rows of corn bent over and beaten.

I've found myself in a similar position lately. The struggles and stresses of life have left me feeling like that corn. Beaten down, flattened... to the point that I've felt completely defeated. Emotionally, I'm bowed low like that corn. And yet, to my amazement, after just a few days those cornstalks sprang back to life! Each stalk, leaning toward the sun, found the strength to stand tall again. And there is my life lesson. Spiritually, I find my strength in the storms of life as I lean toward the SON. In him I find strength to stand once more, strength to go on, to grow, to hopefully stand stronger than before.

So, I take my seat in the front row, and watch and listen for all the Lord has to teach me. I take my seat, and watch the garden grow...