My thanks this year runs so very deep. Something about watching your children grow and enjoy their heritage….I suppose that it is called life and that many others feel the same humility in the occupation they love. Rancher hubby and I were sitting drinking coffee this am, our normal routine and we started remembering all the things that God has brought us through. Now at the time, we didn’t feel that it was that bad or stressful, a couple times yes but for the most part, He showed us His hand. Watching our children love the life we’ve had the privilege to share with them is so very humbling. Ranching (or farming or chicken raising, or ag in general) is usually a very physical and hard labor life. And yet the benefits of being so connected to the land, and to have the opportunity to see God’s creation each day and understand the order that He put in our world is amazing. I found an article in “Our Daily Bread” that mentioned a book with a great title – “Life is Like Licking Honey Off a Thorn” by Susan Lenzkes. That really struck me – so often we don’t like what life throws at us and yet as a Christian I know that what life throws at me is from God. Susan Lenzkes – “We take the laughter and the tears however they come, and let our God of reality make sense of it all. ” That made so much sense to me… often our lives kinda get a spin to them and I wonder if it be the same at the end of the spin cycle. God’s love & care is constant and unfailing!! :)
In the past year and becoming more ‘seen’ on the internet, I have watched as the Ag Chat Foundation and it’s family have become my friends & acquaintances. What an outreach to our consumers and what an ability to engage those who are removed from agriculture into what we in ag do. Our efforts are from a rich heritage of hard work and ingenuity, ranchers especially are independent and stubborn thinkers. (I should know I married one and are one :) I’m thankful for the many producers who work to make our Thanksgiving season so very abundant. We have so much to be thankful for. There are those behind the scenes of a Thanksgiving feast we rarely acknowledge – how bout the truck drivers, and supply flights that get so much food all around our great country. We have resources beyond what other countries dream of. There are those who package or process our food before we start preparing it. Those turkey farmers are fantastic!!! To get so many birds ready at approximately the same time, that’s got to be a huge job!! Thank you dairy guys cuz pies wouldn’t be the same without some whipped cream or ice cream :
oh – & thanks to the egg producers because these pies wouldn’t have been yummy without eggs!!
and thanks to the folks who raise veggies
and to the ones to make sugar – Thanksgiving wouldn’t quite be the same without sugar :)
I’m also thankful for the men and women who are serving our country in the military here at home and overseas. What commitment to be away from your families and to be placing yourself in harms way. You make our lives what they are today and enable us to enjoy the bounty this country offers. I’m Thankful that God allowed me to grow up in a Godly home in a country that was founded by Godly men. What a privilege!! I could go on with my list but I encourage you to finish this post….continue posting or comment those things you are thankful for, whether family, food, your job or your life in general. We are so very blessed to be in America, Land of the free and Home of the Brave :)
