The Certain In Uncertainty

Good morning. Can't say I've ever experienced a week like this before. It seemed like every day was a new surprise. However I'm sure some of you have had more uncertainty than us who live here in rural Iowa. Below Jackson is certain this is going to be the best spring ever since he has no school and gets to help farm. Jackson is Kurt and Emily's oldest, and is in kindergarten. Thanks for the picture Kurt.

Last Monday the little folks and I tackled the store room above the garage.

Part of the time we played and part of the time we cleaned. By the time everyone was tired of both, it looked much better.

I received a call from a friend who lives near the east coast with his family. They were home quarantined and working from their house. Rick reminded me of the openness and blessing for us living in the rural midwest. I was concerned about friends in Malawi. So I called Harrison and asked about life in southeast Africa. He said things are normal. He said they have no way of testing and wouldn't have a clue whether or not they had the virus or not. Moses also responded by WhatsApp, said life is normal, and they are praying for us here in the states. Makes one wonder. Karl asked me if they could borrow a couple dozen eggs. I teased him and said I would trade him for two rolls of toilet paper.

One wonders about one's purpose during times like this. We are looking forward to spring and putting in a crop hoping to help feed the world. After things started getting crazy we were concerned about the balance of seed that wasn't in our shed yet. We have farmers depending on us as their supplier. So Monday evening Karl and Kasey left for Shelbyville, Indiana for a load of soybean seed. They safely arrived back home Tuesday midafternoon. They said the roads were quiet.

At times life did seem normal this past week. Mike is working on moving a large levee along Hwy 92 just west of Oskaloosa. It sounds like the DOT might raise the part of the highway someday that the Muchakinock Creek occasionally floods.

This past Tuesday was dry enough to go to the field. We applied some NH3 on a field that was omitted last fall because we pattern tiled it this past winter.

Alex spent the same day spreading dry fertilizer up north. Thanks to Nathan and Jim for getting him fixed up after breaking a hydraulic hose some distance from home.

Tuesday evening it started raining and we were back to shop jobs. We've had close to 3 inches of rain total on 3 different occasions recently.

As far as our current state of affairs we didn't see this train coming. I still wonder what's real and what's not. What I do know is trains don't stop. They just roll on through. So we stop! So what are we hopefully just temporarily giving up? School. Church. Sports. Markets. Funerals. Weddings. Travel. Small business. Meetings. Get-togethers. Maybe, since we're stopped anyhow, it's time to reboot. In the past we've often been tempted to say, "God, I got this. I can handle things". 

We are enjoying life during our new normal. On Friday Mike deep fried fish and potatoes. Kurt brought some jumbolia. Jan added buffalo burgers and fried cornbread. She also made Kasey's favorite, pineapple upside-down cake.

Jan and I are going for walks! I'm not sure we have regularly done that since our dating days.

TV nowdays is a major downer so we don't watch it. Even the news makes you wonder. Are there actually any grownups in the media? Grownups are positive. Grownups practice selfless well-being and concern for others without expecting anything in return. Verses the children. Children seem to be negative blaming others. Pointing fingers. And asking, What about me? So, back on subject, Jan and I have also got out the games. You know. To keep our minds active. :) Although I think we'll leave the competitive ones in the closet.

Small businesses are going to have a tough time. What we lost in just a couple of days could possibly take months, maybe even longer to recover. Some won't recover. I hope the children and the media in the political arena don't try to add insult to injury by trying to take down the grownups. Once again, back on subject, Jan has been shopping locally, including buying this plant.

So, what is certain in these uncertain times? In 2008 we had this verse put up in our office as a reminder. Act justly. Be honest and fair. Be prudent. Ask questions. Take advantage of opportunities. Show mercy. Be generous. Help others. Be a grownup. Smile. Be a good listener. Walk humbly. Avoid blame and arguments. As Jan says, "on any given subject, we only know in part", sincerely help others feel needed and important. Remember we always have more to learn. Gladly allow others to have the credit. Humility is not a lack of ability or low self-regard. It's idling horsepower. It's also recognizing God is always in control.

Today will feel different than most Sundays we are used to. So Jan borrowed a tradition from the country of Israel and lit a candle last evening to remind us today is the Lord's Day. A time to worship. A time for rest. A time for family. And a time for remembering Who is constant, caring, and certain, in uncertain times. God bless you all my friends.