How many times have I heard it said, "Farmers are never satisfied. It's always either too wet or too dry. It's never 'just right'."? Well, my friends, on the 27th day of May in 2008, more than 12 inches above average rainfall, with few fields in this part of the country planted with anything, and hay crops cut in anticipation of the predicted 'sunny weekend' that was to come this last Memorial Day weekend now laying in water . . . it is too wet. There isn't a farmer who isn't thinking it, and quite a few are saying it, yet not a one utters those words or thinks those thoughts without wondering if the weather will remember how to do any of this come late July and August when the heat of the sun is doing its' worst and whatever crops they are lucky enough to get into the ground will be struggling in the throes of summertime stress. It is, as they say, " . . . the nature of the beast." Farming is a struggle in the best of years, but add to that the huge amounts of rain we have seen in this part of the country, coupled with record high petroleum costs, seed costs, fertilizer costs, and spraying costs, then add to it more than a few of the farmers have contracted a goodly portion of their anticipated Fall 2008 harvest in order to take advantage of the high grain market prices this Spring, I will guarantee you, there is a lot of prayer going on right now. Just like the old saying, "There are no atheists in foxholes or emergency rooms", likewise, there are no atheists among farmers, especially when the tide is, literally, rising. Everybody is praying to Somebody.
More than a few of my folks have chided me about getting on the 'hotline' with the 'Big Fella' and 'saying a good word or two' on their behalf, but something within me already knows that God hears their voices loud and clear . . . and probably a whole lot clearer than God would ever hear my voice praying for them, because they are crying out from the depths of their being and such are the prayers God hears first. The Bible is filled with such stories. Though it is incredibly important for the entire faith community to walk with and pray for anyone who is in distress, it is all the more important for the person in distress to trust God personally with that distress. Faith is a big thing with God. Always has been, always will be.
Some have suggested that God is 'trying them' with this weather. Yet, if you believe that, then you have to also buy into the notion that God is trying the folks in Myanmar, or China, or Iraq, or (you fill in the blank), like it is some sort of Holy Game with God. If that were true, then why send Jesus to show us that, in fact, 'God With Us', Messiah, is with us in everything that is part and parcel of our living? Granted, the wet weather we have been enduring is very trying, but then, so was the dry weather of last year, and the cold snowy weather of last Winter, and the drought in the Plains States, and the fires in the Western States, well, you get the picture. We don't get to pick and choose who gets tried one year and off the hook the next: God's creation is an ongoing, dynamic creation of which we, too, are part. If the weather doesn't behave the way we think it should, maybe it is because the weather is a better indicator of human nature than we would care to acknowledge, so pray for grace and mercy in all things . . . even with the weather.
Most of all, pray. In season and out, pray. Wet year and dry, pray. Good crops and crop failure, pray. Cloudy days and sunny, pray. When you feel most alone and when you are surrounded by those who love you, pray. When you are ready to give up and when nothing could ever stop you, pray. On the tractor in the field or changing the oil while water runs down the gutters, pray.
Maybe the question isn't, "What will God do about this?", but, rather, "How much do you trust God in the midst of this to see you through, no matter what?" You want predictable, get a job on an assembly line. You want to work as a direct partner with God in stewarding the earth and all its untold, unrevealed resources for others, pray. Only the best of friends can trust each other with everything . . . and, I think, God is big enough, true enough, and proven enough a Friend to us all that you can even trust God with your biggest frustrations, doubts and angers. Just don't forget to listen for God's response. Sometimes, it is the still, small Voice that most surprises us when we are waiting for the big dramatic changes. Sometimes, the stone is simply rolled away from the door of the tomb while the world rushes by unaware.
Some say the prayers which are never spoken will not be heard, yet even then, I'm not so sure. God is funny that way: Before a word is spoken, God has heard it and considered its' meaning. So, may God hear the farmers as they cry out in the midst of these waters of tumult. So may God hear us all.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Don
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