Juxtaposition

Visiting Lana's family in Illinois this weekend, we had the opportunity to visit some of the Amish areas of the state.  In agricultural terms, can you say juxtaposition?

Old, Semi-Traditional

New, Modern

Is one way better than the other?  Maybe, in some ways.  Maybe not.  

There certainly is something refreshing, even romantic, about a simpler way of life that is vacant of what us modern folks normally call distractions, grievances, nuisances, worries, and anxieties.  But at the same time, we enjoy modern amenities and daily pleasures such as air conditioning, electricity, internet, and global positioning systems.

Either way, I am reminded of a couple of verses from Scripture that all believers would do well to remember:

25 e“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you.

34 q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.    Matthew 6:25-34, ESV

     “Be still, and know that I am God.

vI will be exalted among the nations,

 I will be exalted in the earth!”   Psalms 46:10, ESV

Slow Moving Vehicle

Modern farm equipment is big, shiny, technologically advanced, expensive, and slow.

I was reminded of this a couple of days ago, when planting soybeans for someone else, I had to travel down a state highway (two of them actually) in order to get to the field.

During morning commute.

It's not that big of deal, but this one particular highway is a fairly hilly two lane highway with few opportunities to pass.

Cruising along in my John Deere tractor pulling a planter at a top speed of 26 mph, looking in my rear view mirrors I could see the cars lining up behind me.  What was I to do?

About the best one can do in situations like these is pull over as much as possible and slow down or stop if possible and let the cars go by.

Some farm machinery is big.  Really big.  At least compared to state and rural roads.  Keep in mind that even the newest and fastest equipment has a top speed of 30 mph, and between trying to dodge mailboxes set too close to the road, overhanging tree limbs, road signs, narrow bridges, road ditches, and people texting while driving, we do our best to get over as soon as we can.

Yes some equipment is about as wide as the road, and yes some machinery has big tires on it that would make even the reddest red neck yell "Get 'er done!" but, keep in mind we can't go any faster, and tractors and combines and spray rigs don't exactly maneuver like a lamborghini.

So if you see flashing lights and the SMV sign on the back of something that looks big and scary, keep in mind we don't much like being on the highway any more than you like being stuck behind us. And, keep in mind that as farm sizes grow while the number of farmers decreases, it's going to require us to get on the highway from time to time to get to our fields.

So save your middle finger and curse words (yes, we see some of you mouthing off at us) for something that actually matters--you know, something important like your sons opposing t-ball team--and try to remember that when you sit down and eat your 8th meal of the day you can be thankful that the worst part of your day may have been that you were delayed a few minutes while driving down the road.