March Updates
Farming involves a great deal of faith and hope. We believe the sun will rise in the East and set in the West, we trust that God knows our needs and we have faith that He will provide solutions to problems when we cannot see how to resolve them ourselves. We can all identify areas in our life that we perceive to be problems - here are a few we’ve faced so far this year:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ”
One of our bee hives died unexpectedly, while the other two hives seem to be thriving. We discovered a possible cause, but we still grieve over the loss, not simply because the amount of honey is diminished significantly, but also for the loss of our littlest workers who served us faithfully the last few years. In addition, the average cost of replacing a hive is $150-$300.
Our greenhouse has proven to be a frustrating experience. Constant leaking, windows that don’t work, lack of ventilation, poor materials that are breaking down in less than a year after construction, and a skunk that lives beneath it. Scrapping the greenhouse is not in the budget (especially considering the fact that our son, John, spent valuable time putting it together for us), so we’ve determined to not use the same company in the future, and to make adjustments and repairs as needed to improve its functionality.
Over 100 blueberry bushes need to be replaced and planted by hand this month. This is a farmer’s ongoing process; taking account of losses, factoring the cost, discerning whether we could have cared for the plants better, and surrendering each bush to God’s capable care.
HOWEVER, all things considered, we are completely convinced that God’s plan will be carried out this year despite these setbacks. So now we remind ourselves of all the positives we have to be grateful for thus far this year:
We are ahead of schedule in terms of pruning and protecting (i.e. gently spraying each bush and tree in our orchard with OMRI-certified organic pest and fungus prevention).
Our personal garden is well on its way to being ready for planting since John, Rod, and Sarah have constructed/placed the raised beds.
We have seedlings that are strong and healthy in our fruit processing room, just bursting with life.
Our Sourdough 101 Class in February absolutely blessed our hearts - the additional bakery orders since then have brought Sarah and Lin so much joy!
We have hope that acts as an anchor within our souls, and faith that overall, God’s got us.
Whenever we shift our focus from our problems to the Provider, we experience peace. This life is filled with both blessings and burdens, but it is our hope that we can shed light on the goodness found by having faith in a God who sees, hears, and loves each and every one of us. If you’re feeling the weight of life’s stressors today, we pray that this blog article blesses and uplifts your spirit!