WATCHWORD:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23
Meditation:
Learning from Dirt
From January through April, 2009-2012, each year, my wife and I volunteered at Heifer International Learning Center, at the Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. We, along with our colleagues, staffed the Visitor Center, welcoming some 175-200 visitors each week, giving tours, providing lectures, and sharing our newly acquired knowledge of the large bee hive that dominated the far wall of the Center. In March and April, when the kits and lambs were being born, we helped the livestock volunteers, patrolling the pastures alert to ewes with birthing problems.
When we weren’t welcoming visitors and patrolling the pastures, we were in the “show barn” and the attached paddock, crowded with baby lambs/goats. We learned to milk the ewes, bottle feed the orphans, and play with and laughed at the antics of the little ones as they romped around the paddock.
One year we held a week-long family reunion on the Ranch, and they learned a lot about getting your hands dirty in service, the educational work of the ranch, and the good that Heifer does in helping to end world hunger. The experience left a mark on each one of us, especially my 8-year-old granddaughter who soaked it all in and could hardly wait each morning get down to the Show Barn to do her part; milking a ewe, then bottle feeding the kits and lambs, and then playing with all the little ones. Fond memories all around. My wife and I valued greatly our experience at the Heifer Ranch and I know we wish we could have gone back for more years.
Those of us who did not grow up close to the agricultural life of farms, have little knowledge of how the process that God put into place unfolds. The scripture tells us we came from dirt and dirt we will return, although they use the word ‘dust’, but the sentiment is still there.
A pastor friend of mine moved from full-time pastoring to full-time farming, while at the same time providing a valued renewal experience for pastors to come to his farm and get their hands dirty, learning God’s lessons. There’s something very real about getting into good soil, being part of the mutual growth of plant and animal, or, walking a pasture and assisting a ewe in distress. You would be surprised what can be learned when taking a shovel and cleaning out a corral or stall, home to a water buffalo or horse. And there’s something very satisfying about giving a tour to city folk, and sometimes getting them involved, sharing the value that the land and the animals provide to the world, and in the process you learn, as well.
We all have vivid experiences in our life journeys, experiences that have shaped and formed us, as we are the clay in the potter’s (God’s) hand. I’ve had indelible experiences in my growing years; Korea in the midst of war, Heifer Ranch, being blessed with children and grandchildren, our family intact. These are more than vivid experiences, these are graces and gifts from the Lord who knows even before we are born what we would experience and how that experience would prepare us for what was next, which, in turn, equips us for what we would do after that. And so it goes, God’s blessings multiplied, blessings upon blessings.
Count your Blessings, Name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Hallelujah.
The Revealing:
All will be revealed in the next Watchword. In he meantime, think the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Next time, then.
Closing Prayer:
Father God, thank You that Jesus is my Good and faithful Shepherd. Thank You for the times that You bring me to a halt in the hustle and bustle of this frenzied life and cause me to take time to rest. May I listen to Your voice, respond to Your gracious leading, and lie down in the green pastures into which You have led me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
