Leaving a Legacy...



Spring planting season always seems a bit stressful for my husband but not as much as it was a decade ago when he went out to plant the crops for the first time after his father had passed away. Joel had always had his dad a mile down the road to assist him and give him advice on how to plant the seed his first few years of farming. His dad had always insisted on planting the corn for Joel so that it was "done right" and that was ok...let dad plant! He has the experience and wants to help...until the spring of 1997. Joel remembers how his dad said to him, "I want you to plant the corn and beans this spring just in case something would happen to me and I am not here to help you do this someday. You need to learn how to plant without me"...little did we know that Howard would pass away of a sudden heart attack after harvest that year! Joel said it was like he knew it was time to let go and let him try it on his own. Now watching Joel plant this field alone as his dad and grandfather had done so many years ago it reminded me of how he has followed in their footstep through the same fields for so many years. Joel's grandpa farmed with horses on this land so many years ago. His father continued the legacy of farming through years of plenty and through the lean years. I walked through the old farm machinery in the grove from the early 1930's like a museum of long ago. I really never understood what this "farming thing" meant to my husband, his father or his father's father...but I think I do now. It is something not tangible but if you stand at the top of the hill overlooking the fields of freshly tilled soil and the sky that goes on forever...you come to realize it... "Oh, so this is why....so THIS is why they believed in farming?!" I read this plaque that Joel's dad had hanging in shed that reads;

I Believe In Farming~ I believe a man's greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming. I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person's character. I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on earth. I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned in no other way. I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring. I believe true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feel the pride that springs from their shared experience. I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he's lived. I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.



If you read the post by my dear blogger friend, Jennifer at http://gettingdownwithjesus.blogspot.com/ you will see a similar story of her husband's first planting season without his dad and I thought it was very touching. I just wanted to share Joel's experience as it reminded me so much of what he felt that first spring...and the legacy he hopes to pass on to his children someday if they choose to accept it!