(Awe)Struck

Things are happenin', I tell ya. Happenin' enough to get two posts out of me in a month...and the month is only half over!

The past six weeks have consisted of activities ranging from dehorning, castrating, and weaning calves to shucking sweet corn and making apple cider. Not only do many hands make lighter work, they also make it possible to get more done! It's probably been three years since we last made apple cider. How sweet it is...

We have three apprentices who have been here since the beginning of September. Jason and Kate are a husband and wife team gaining experience in different agricultural sectors in advance of operating their own farm one day, and Sarah is learning the art of cheesemaking in pursuit of adding value to her family's operation. God has definitely blessed us with their presence, and as seems to be a common theme around here, our paths crossing has purposes that go beyond the surface of agricultural interests. Sometimes those purposes are revealed quickly and sometimes it takes a while to unshroud the mystery.

Have you ever had something really big happen in your life and you know there's more to it than you can grasp at the time? Well, I had one of those happen last Thursday afternoon. Sarah and I were finishing up the afternoon chores. We each sloshed our way to separate pastures on that rainy afternoon to give each group of cows some more grass. It had been raining lightly most all day, and there were a couple of light rumbles of thunder as we headed from one pasture to the others. There was no lightning to be seen and the thunder didn't seem very threatening, which is why I chose to continue on with the work and get it done since we were already wet. The gentle, even chilly, rain pattered on my raincoat in an almost comforting--though not necessarily comfortable, since I was still getting wet underneath--way, lulling me into oblivion.

Now, I like weather. Watching the weather, knowing what conditions are coming, and all that. And working outside most of my life has taught me a few things about the predictability...and the unpredictability...of nature. Last Thursday showed me that apparently the unpredictability is supposed to help keep us humble. As I walked across that pasture setting up the fence for the next day's break for the heifers, all of a sudden a crack and flash exploded close enough to me that the fence picked up the current. Almost instantly the charge lept from the electric fence reel I held to my hand and out through my foot. Remember how on Home Alone the tall gangly thief named Marv grabbed the electrified appliance and uncontrollably screamed like a girl? Well, there were no "earwitnesses" close enough to hear or duplicate the sound I made, but I definitely yelled. Maybe just not quite as long or as high-pitched as Marv! And it either knocked me down or else I dropped because I didn't want to get hit again. It all happened in a VERY short amount of time, so it was hard to process it all as it happened!

As I processed the thought that I had just been struck by lightning and took a quick survey of my physical state, my next thought was an incredulous "I'm still alive and not burned up?" My hand was quite numb/tingly and it felt deformed. I started praying almost immediately. Maybe because that's the kind of response a close encounter with such raw power elicits. When I read about people like Ezekiel and Daniel who were visited by the Lord, or angels, they immediately fell on their face. Isaiah's encounter brought humility and repentance. I have been more humbled since hearing that a man in Illinois was killed by lightning while taking care of his cows that day. It was another reminder of how undeservedly great His mercy is towards me!

I was able to call Dad on my phone (with my other hand), so he came and got me (he was almost faster than the lightning!), then we went to get Sarah in the other pasture. The feeling slowly started returning to part of my fingers, and by the next day most of the effects were pretty well gone. There was a slight burn on the arch of my foot where the electricity exited my body, and within the reddened area was a mark--a perfect letter K. I thought maybe God was saying, "Just in case you forgot who you are..." Or perhaps it simply shows that God's touch is personalized.


Nowhere in the Bible do I remember any mention of lightning that pertains to anything evil or having to do with Satan. If it's there I've not seen it yet. But over and over again lightning accompanies God's presence or signifies his power or glory. That night as I lay thinking about what had happened I suddenly wanted to read some passages in the Bible that talked about lightning. So I looked some verses up and started reading. The second one I found was in Job 36:32-33...
"He covers his hand with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. Its noise declares concerning him, and the cattle also, concerning what is coming up."
Talk about getting my attention! God speaks to those who are listening, those who are willing to seek out His mysteries. Jesus spoke in parables all the time when he was teaching the crowds, and it was those closest to him who sought the meaning within the parables. I have a feeling this lightning strike might be part of a mystery He's beckoning me to seek out. "For it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search it out." (Proverbs 25:2)

The Spiritual Sandwich

When I first started this blog, I envisioned using it to keep fresh news of happenings on the farm in front of inquiring minds. I guess other than the fact that I've been intermittent at posting regularly, that's what I've done, but it's kind of taking a different direction presently. If I continually write about cows and cheese this could get redundant. But if I write about what God is doing through cows and cheese, the adventure ramps up considerably!

As I mentioned in the last post, God does things in the natural to reveal the spiritual. Well, I was reading a verse in Isaiah the other day and saw something pretty cool. The verse was in chapter 55, verse 11. A great promise in and of itself, but it was what the Lord said through the prophet before and after it that revealed a magnificent pattern...

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up; And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the Lord, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."
Isa 55:10-13

Did you catch the physical, natural example in the rain watering the earth? With a physical purpose, to perpetuate life. God says, just like that, that's how it is with my word (Jesus is called the Word!). That right there is worthy of plenty of meditation (the meat of any sandwich takes more to digest than the bread that surrounds it). But fast forward for now to verses 12 and 13. I noticed He said, "For YOU will go out..." Maybe Isaiah was prophetically speaking of Jesus. But maybe, just maybe, the YOU refers to all of us who know this Creator, Speaker, Author God through the Word and Spirit. Regardless, "YOU" will go out with joy, FORTH with peace (his word goes FORTH from his mouth...perhaps He "speaks" us into mission).

Now get this...when "YOU" goes forth, the physical world responds! Mountains and hills shout for joy (don't ask me what this sounds like!) and trees clap. But what is more, those thornbushes and nettle--painful plants which are often part of the natural succession from wilderness to Eden--give way to the cypress and myrtle. If I did a study on those two plants there would be even more insights into the promises of God, I'm sure. Maybe you could call this sandwich Big Mac style, since just when you thought you found the edge of the sandwich you discover this piece of bread just leads to another layer (and that's where the similarity to the Big Mac ends)! I will claim this promise for the natural world in faith that we will see healing and increased fertility in our pastures and on our farm. But I claim this promise for my soul as well, as those difficult, prickly and painful circumstances God leads me through are sometimes a necessary evil for my own journey to true wholeness.

One of the bottom lines is that the Father desires and plans to bring healing and restoration to the physical world, but there is a spiritual connection that will come first. And before that He very well may share what He wants to do with those of His children who are willing to slow down enough to observe the world around them.

Right now as I type, a song is playing on my computer about restoration. The words hold incredible promise: "You take my mourning and turn it into dancing...You take my weeping and turn it into laughing...You take my mourning and turn it into dancing...You take my sadness and turn it into joy! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! You make all things new! You make all things new!" The word has been spoken. I can believe that it will be accomplished. So the lingering question is, am I living in a way that is causing the mountains to shout for joy? Some food for thought...chew carefully.