Wither and Die, Water and Life

 This is a sad story for me to write, but it is a part of our farm’s story, and hopefully we will look back and see God’s glory working through it.

We are coming off of some hard weeks. A few weeks back, the transmission on our farm truck went out. After weighing our options, we decided to have it rebuilt. This was followed by a propane leak under our old farmhouse (yikes!), which thankfully we were able to get taken care of right away.

In the midst of all this, we were having issues with our water acting up, with it quickly getting worse and worse. Over the past week I’ve felt like we’ve had a water triage going on, where we were having to designate what things are the most crucial for the use of water in our home and on the farm.

This week we got bad news. Our well is running dry. Think of someone slurping that last little bit of liquid in their cup from a straw, and you’ve got our water problem.

Without water there is no life, and this is especially apparent when you are trying to run a farm. Not only is our well not working, but the last couple of weeks the weather has been dry, warm, and windy, only adding to our dilemma.

We are watching our flourishing garden and plants wither and die.

The well is dry, funds are drying up, and we are feeling parched, drained, and exhausted by the weight of it all.

I walked around the yard with the guys who will be drilling our new well, who were admiring our gardens and asking a lot of questions about the vegetables we are growing, the farmers market, and our watering operation. At one point one of them turned to me and said, “I’ll be prayin’ to the good Lord Almighty that you’ll be gettin’ rain here for your plants.”

That filled me with hope. A complete stranger saw our need and was willing to send up prayers on our behalf. Bless him.

This morning I was encouraged by this devotion from Shauna Niequist, “I’m turning from fear to prayer, trusting that God can create new life and beauty from anything. I’m inviting the springtime around me into my own life, hoping it takes root and begins to show signs of new life in me, even small ones.” (Savor, On Springtime, pg 107)

We are praying for that springtime, for that rain that will revive and bring new life to our withered plants and dying garden, and the hope of living water that will revive our withered hearts and souls.

Frost and Flowers

My chickens spent the better part of March scratching the heavy layers of leaves off my flower beds, which means I spent the better part of March piling the leaves back on, trying desperately to keep my delicate spring flowers covered up until the right time.

Every time I donned my long sleeves and started covering up those pale greenish yellow shoots, this verse came to me.

“Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” Song of Solomon 2:7

A string of warm days could force the spring flowers up early, and without any cover, a frost could easily damage them. I’ve definitely had years where the blooms died prematurely or the plants never even bloomed at all.

This verse in particular is about love. It’s about letting it “rest” and not forcing it until the right time. But as I was thinking about this verse and protecting my precious flowers, I thought about the things I’m yearning for right now. Fresh veggies straight from the garden, market season, and most of all, for the chance to get published. I’ve spent the winter working hard towards these things, and I’m yearning and dreaming to see the fruit of my labor come to life.

Every time I covered those flowers, it was a reminder of patience, that there is a time and season for everything.