Beyond the Walls
September 1st, 2007 by Northern FarmerOur place is really noisy the last couple of nights, calves weaned and they don’t want to be weaned! The cows are starting to give up bellering but the calves are pretty intense yet. That should cut back in a bit and any calves that still miss mamma in a couple more days might even start to lose their voices. Other than that things are about normal here, haven’t started silage yet but any day now that’ll be coming. Takes about a week or so to get that job done.
I hear there’s a holiday weekend coming up, doesn’t make much difference here on the farm really. Another Monday is about all. But this Monday we’ll be going to a funeral, a funeral for one of our brothers in Christ from our little church. I’ve known him just about all of my life and always got along with him. He’s a couple years older than me and a farmer too. A bachelor and kinda stuck to many of the old ways including helping others that were in need. In fact thinking back there was hardly ever a time when he wasn’t helping someone in need. I remember a few years back when a tornado hit a farm yard a few miles from here and we went the next day to take a gander at the destruction and there he was already helping clean up and get the dairy herd back in order from the storm that had destroyed the barn. Every Sunday he’d be in church, quiet as a church mouse, never made a scene, always sitting towards the back, way off to the side. He’d come walking by me with a limp and say, “Your corn dead yet Tom?†And I’d answer, “It’s getting there!†We had our own language that most regular church folks might not quite understand.
Three or four weeks ago on a Sunday he said to me after church, “Tom, take a look at my new car, paid four hundred dollars for it.†Of course a four hundred dollar church car is something I just have to inspect and hope my envy doesn’t show through to much, especially in front of the other church folks. I know we ain’t supposed to covet, but a four hundred dollar church car might just cause a little sin to sprout! Then he started er up, only took about thirty seconds of grinding for it to sputter and roar into action. Plus another side benefit was it smoked out half a block so that held down the summer bug population for that afternoon.
And after church on Sunday afternoons he’d head to the area old folk’s homes and go visiting the oldtimers and grannies. He did that all the time. There’s a lesson there for me. The more I think about it and I’ve been thinking about it a lot the last two days, it’s seldom one meets a person that really lives like Christ told us to live. You know, a person can whoop er up in church and get all involved in church and all that but most of the time after all the church stuff is all said and done it’s right back to living almost exactly the same as everyone else in the world. Hardly a difference if there’s any at all. I never knew of him going around chasing preachers or prophetic groups, never knew him doing any of the fashionable things in church today. The difference with him and most church folks is clear to me now. His personal ministry started when he left church. He didn’t leave God in church and go back to the world, he brought God into the world from the church.
There’s a lot for me to learn from all of this. Stuff that’s hard to learn no matter how much a person studies. Because when a person actually walks the walk the Kingdom of God moves forward and nothing can stop it. I’ll miss him, but I know we’ll be meeting again soon. Church will be a little different, I’ll miss the farmer talk, especially the old time farmer talk, none of the modern worldly farmer talk. Yup, there was a life that made a difference for so many folks and will be sadly missed. But when a person plants seeds all around there’ll be a new crop growing! It’ll spread from walking with God.
I never truly realized it while he was alive, ain’t that the way it sometimes goes, about how much he walked with Jesus, how much he did in Jesus’ name. Just that old-time way, the way folks used to be. I pray that some of that anointing he had will pour onto me and to others. That desire to take God’s love out of the church walls and spread it around to a fallen world.
September 1st, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Sad to see that your friend has passed on. But I’ll bet he asks you how your corn was, when you get there. My wife and i had a friend at church named Monica. She was diabetic, and very obese because of it. However, her heart was bigger than she was. She was in an apartment fire, and nearly died. And she lost everything. She had already lost part of her foot to her diabetes. After trying to get a new start, her health started to fail. We went to see her at the hospital, and she told us that she had asked the Lord to heal her, or take her home. She was that miserable. Two days later, the Savior took her home. Her service was seemingly small, because of her health, but she did one thing that endeared her to everybody. Every important date in peoples lives, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. you would get a cheerful card. She also was always at the church foyer to welcome everybody, especially visitors A small thing, yes, but much loved. She never forgot anybody over the years. We truly miss her sometimes. Your farmer friend, and our Monica, have more holiness to them, than all the TV preachers ever did. May the crop of love they sowed grow thick and ripe with the grace of our Lord.
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:46 am
Mark,
Our friend, his name was Jim, had the same sufferings as your Monica. Jim had lost a foot and lower leg to diabetis. Had some incredible suffering in his life. But when a person looks at it, he “walked” with Christ much more than the “average” christian. His passing has made me reassess my life a lot. Makes me wonder, those people that live a living hell, how they go on with such a strong faith and affect so many people. Just doing the “little things”, like your Monica and our Jim. But them little things mean so much that they can have world changing affects, most affects we’ll never see or realize, but happening none the less.
The greatest surprise and joy will happen when we pass on to glory and folks like Monica and Jim are there waiting for us. And I think it’s safe to say that there’ll be a huge surprise when one sees that folks like that are in very high positions in Heaven and so many of the religious “wise” are at the lowest levels, if they’re even there at all. God’s Kingdom never changed, the meek and humble will be the rulers, not the high and mighty on this earth.
Thanks Mark and God Bless!
September 3rd, 2007 at 6:18 am
Tom
Hate to hear about your friend,its tough I understand. Just wanted to let you know that you have already recieved some of that anointing. I am a Pastor/Farmer and If you didn’t know it most Pastors are lonely for friendship conversation. Well all I can say is keep on Blogging it is a blessing to us out here. THANKS!! Got to go Hay fields are waiting.
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Allen,
Long day today. Went to the funeral after morning chores and i still can’t believe it, it was the biggest funeral I ever seen! Maybe someday I’ll write about it a bit, tonight I’m bushed. Cut hay for eight hours after I got home today. I’m thankful for the hay cutting job today, cause a person sure could reflect on the funeral and all the other things that happened because of it. And many things did happen. And with you being a Pastor/Farmer I’d just bet that you’d be amazed at all that happened today. Yup, this day is more than worthy of a blog post. Don’t know if I’ll do it here or elsewhere, but one of these days it’ll get written! Folks probably get all bored with subjects like this so I shouldn’t over do it. (But then again when has that ever stopped me).
By the way, I’m more than honored having a Pastor/Farmer hanging around here!
God Bless!
September 7th, 2007 at 12:01 am
I liked your memorial to Jim, and I look forward to meeting him in heaven. I hope you do write about the day of his funeral. Sounds like you’ve got a lot to say.
September 10th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
You and your friend are in my prayers. That was a beautiful remembrance, and your friend is still bringing God’s word to others, even in death, through your words.
And no, we do not get bored with posts like this.
Jen
September 11th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Deb,
Thanks. I’m pretty sure we’ll be meeting him in heaven!
BQ,
Thanks. This past week and a half around the area have shown what an effect Jim had in the area with all age groups. I’ll try and write about it someday.
And I apologize for it being a bit dead around this blog, for some reason my internet went out a week ago and I figured I’d get it fixed when we got done chopping silage. Well, I came in a few minutes ago and the daughter says, “Hey Dad, the internet is working!” I have no idea why, I have no idea what was wrong, all I know is it was out for a week but I was to busy to investigate. So maybe in a day or two I can catch up a tad bit around here.