There comes a time around mid March for those of us that live in the midwest when we just can't wait for sunshine and a warm south breeze. We look forward to retiring the muck boots, the carhartts, the stocking hats, and the chore gloves.
And it's not just the grownups. Watching TV at grandma's house and playing with the indoor toys is only fun for just so long.
What's really cool is being outside without coats, riding bikes, sharing 4-wheeler rides, and listening to the grownups hollering, "be careful, don't go too fast, and quit spinning on grandma's yard".
There's also cousins to play ball with in-between the tractors. On this court you learn to catch the ball because if you miss you chase it all the way to the pond.
With warmer weather comes dryer gravel roads. Dryer gravel roads allow your washed vehicles to stay clean longer than your first trip out the driveway.
Speaking of driveways, every spring we spruce up the winter softened yards with a brand new load of rock.
As it warms up there is a renewed sense of urgency in getting the equipment ready for fieldwork. Come spring this sprayer will work everyday except for Sundays, rainy days, and windy days.
Mike is ready to go and push dirt. He checks the fields that are getting terraces, waiting for the ground to become firm and dry.
We decided as a family to have one last outing before life got busy. The girls made a plan and Jan rented some motel rooms just a half hour from home. We squirted total strangers while swimming, took up the whole breakfast area for our delivered pizza, rested, watched basketball, played cards, and just visited.
One of the things we have traditionally done ever since I was a kid was to have a mid week prayer service sometime during March for crops and industry. In my younger years I remember thinking, boy, I sure don't want to miss that service, we need a crop. It's a good thing it's not that way. If God based the size of our crop off of the attempts of our good works we would have a crop failure every year. I do feel however that God is honored and praised when we acknowledge our dependence, ask for his help, and realize everything we raise is a gift from Him.
Someone asked me this week if the approach of spring ever felt overwhelming. The question made me think back to a guy I saw a couple of weeks ago in Africa sitting along the road in a rocky area making gravel by hand with a hammer and chisel. I couldn't imagine what a painstaking job. Yet he had quite a pile of inch gravel beside him for sale. Looking at the workload as a whole makes one weary.
However, taking one's job a day at a time, with God given ability and energy, the seed delivery, custom work, and spring preparation and planting will again get accomplished. I feel blessed to live in a country where we can together help feed the world. God is good. Best wishes on your endeavors as you anticipate spring.
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