Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
by Heather Lang
“…Give us this day our daily bread….” The Lord's prayer is something we recite at the end of each church sermon. But have you ever wondered why the word “bread” is used? Bread is the most basic form of food and is recognized by every culture in one way or another.
We all face challenges in our lives. The ag community faces tough challenges each day, but that's part of what lures us into our careers. What happens when those challenges start to feel never-ending? What happens when there seems to be no way to defeat the challenges? The bills pile up, you stop answering phone calls, you become silent and distant and lose the voice and the fire that drives you. Sadly, this is the very situation that many in our industry are facing this year. How do you deal with stress? How do you deal with extreme pressure to succeed?
Faith. It's something every farmer has to have to an extent. Think about it. Each spring we plant the seeds for that year’s crop and from there we make sure to do everything possible to make that seed grow into a bountiful crop. We have faith it will grow. We have faith it will rain at opportune times, that it doesn't rain too much or not enough. Our faith is what we hold onto when we are hoping that the weather plays out in our favor. Because, honestly, we can do everything “perfect” and “by the book” but in the end we can only do so much.
From a young age I was taught and still strongly believe that God provides us with what we need. If you believe that, as I do, then hopefully we can agree that He is the only one who can provide food for our world. We, as farmers, are simply the chosen caretakers. But even if we are the best caretakers of the land there are still many things out of our control.
Faith is what keeps me looking forward, moving forward. I say A LOT of prayers that He will guide me in the right direction. After all, I know He will provide all that I NEED. That is where I find my comfort.
I stand tall in my faith through the hardships because sometimes God makes us go through those challenges in order to focus on him and not the world.
Heather is a fourth-generation farmer and is the NDFB District 7 Promotion and Education Committee representative. She also serves on the American Farm Bureau Federation Promotion and Education Committee.