farmers get it worst

Farmers get it worst.

Throwing faith to the wind or Holy Spirit or whatever

catches their hunched-shouldered plod

across winter barren fields

believing rows will spring up

taller than their heads by July.

Full body dungarees are not armor enough

to withstand this summer scorch,

cracking and sucking from spring coffee ground soil

until it lay

fragile and thick and hollow

beneath their steel toed boots.

Yes, farmers get it worst.

Those who put a hand up to

shield

their eyes and cry out

to the sun or the sky or God

or maybe all three.

But nothing comes from their mouth. No scream or curse.

Just a long, cold sigh.

And then

they turn away from the blistering orb

and trudge toward home to wait.

Yes, farmers get it worst. 

Farmers get it

worst

of

all.

*****

*****

“. . . some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced . . .” Mark 4:4-8 NKJV

*****

because of the morning star

Yellow star faces groundward in eager expectation of the fruit which will burst forth from its branches.

A little sun.

A little water.

A little weed pulling.

And a lot of patience.

Still, the hope of bright, red fruit persists.

All because of the Morning Star.

Dear brothers and sisters,be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. ~James 5:7-8 (NLT)

We couldn’t be more sure of what we saw and heard—God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You’ll do well to keep focusing on it. It’s the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts. The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word. ~2 Peter 1:19-20 (TMV)

Knee deep in thankfulness

I’m thankful for laundry.

I never thought I’d say it–much less write it–but I’m thankful for laundry today.

As I type, my bedroom floor is covered in 2-3 foot moguls of laundry. Occasionally, as I step through it, a hidden boy or a dog will yelp and dart out of the room. Most days, putting laundry away is my least favorite thing to do. The task is just so vain and never-ending. Like Gremlins, laundry always comes back. Always multiplies. Always overwhelms. Even when I think I’m done, my husband decides to clean his side of the closet and then there it sets, another full basket of dirty laundry.

Sigh.

This afternoon, though, I decided to try to think different about my laundry. A paradigm shift, if you will, of a seemingly meaningless, perpetually monotonous and mundane task. So here it is, my laundry list of laundry thankfulness:

1. I am thankful my laundry exists because God has blessed me with a house full of people who wear it.

2. I am thankful my pile of laundry exists because the people in my house are healthy and run around dribbling, spilling, goobering and slobbering all over their clothes, which is why it needs washed in the first place.

3. Separated out, each individual in my family has their own individual pile of laundry bigger than the pile of clothes other entire families have to wear between them. Thanks, God, for giving us plenty to wear, and then some. Spur us on to share.

4. My sons’ socks are dwarfed by my husband’s. This reminds me raising little boys and having them here in my home is a brief, scintillating and special time.

5. One child prefers all white underwear. Another prefers boxers. Another prefers skivvies with animated characters on them. This makes me thankful for how uniquely God gifted and created each one of them. 

6. I am the only one in my home who requires skirt hangers. This reminds me how grateful I am that I do not have daughters. (Call me crazy, but I’ve always been over-the-moon about having all boys!)

7. I pair and fold my husband’s black dress socks, and I am grateful he has a good and steady job to wear them to each day.

8. I hang my husband’s dress shirts, and I’m so grateful he works so hard for us every day.

9. I hang my husband’s golf shirts and am thankful he is healthy and able to play and have leisure time that he loves.

10. I set aside a few little boy tees that are too small for anyone in this house anymore, and I am thankful I have enough that I can give things to others.

I folded all that laundry and thanked God for each person in my family . . . that they are alive and well . . . that I can put the clothes away in closets . . . that they will have another day full of life to live and wear them. I thanked God, and I said a prayer and shed a tear for the families I know who have lost husbands and fathers, children and wives . . . families faced with a closet or basket full of laundry for someone they’d give anything in the world to see wear it all again.

So you see, today I am thankful for my laundry.

What are you thankful for today?