Long Days Lead to Strong Faith

 "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."  

2 Chronicles 15:7

Over the last seven weeks things have been a little crazy here on the farm.  We have gone through lambing season, we took our idea and ran with the lamb snuggling, and we started our maple syrup.  What did this idea of lamb snuggling do for the farm? 

Over the course of the seven weekends, we had over 300 visitors to the farm.  Some people drove from faraway while others were local.  Either way, the support, the purchases, and the people hearing our story was incredible.  It goes to show that sometimes an idea can help a farm thrive.  In all honesty though, this venture of farming is not always easy.  There are times that it just seems like quitting or giving up would be a good idea.  Or maybe just going back to a small little hobby farm, but when we look at the way the world is turning, we know deep down that people will need the options of fresh food, they will need to know who their farmer is, and they will need to build those relationships. 

Often times those times of reconsideration of what we are doing here has us reflecting on our purpose.  As a generational farm, how do we know that farming is something that we are supposed to do?  How is it determined who farms and who doesn't?  I feel it is the same as who is a teacher and who might be a pastor.  It's God's calling on our life and he never once promised that the job he wanted us to do would be easy and that there wouldn't be bumps in the road.  Just a couple weeks ago I was discussing the never ending of farming with my grandma and the struggles of what society is expecting and she told me that she never forgot when I was about 12 how I told my grandpa and her while doing some pumpkins or something how I would be running the farm someday.  

Even though at a young age, I knew that I wanted to run the farm, but that didn't mean I tried to go elsewhere first.  I went off to college because I felt that an education would land me a job as a veterinarian, however while struggling one day with Chemistry Class I was taking a walk and just praying to God in my head and I clearly heard him say, "I want you to help people with your farm." The next day I changed my major and I worked on learning how to better help people.  All this education was not around agriculture but I spent a lot of time studying how animals helped people and how the mental health world overlapped with animals.  I knew that in God's timing the things I needed would be provided and the chance for things to happen would take place.  

This year marks 10 years since I moved on to the farm with my husband and the boys and in those last 10 years we have gone from fostering children, to starting the non-profit to give people positive interactions with equines, to growing the farm business to provide people fresh food.  Regardless of what we have going on, the end result is helping people with the farm.  Often times the days are not easy, I forget to do things, my house is not clean like I wish it could be, and of course some programs are a complete flop, but I have to remember that God put us here to farm as we are 5 generations in, I have to remember that I am doing the work he has asked of me, and I know that we are blessing people each and every day. 

The days are long, the jobs are not always easy, and there is alot of struggles along the way but we stay strong as we know in the end we will be rewarded for our work. 

As Always, 

Farming with Faith & Family, 

Amanda