Optimistic Farmers

Will Rogers once said, "The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer." As I read that quote the other day, I thought about how true that was.

Just in the past week there has been a farmer who lost his combine to a fire and a farmer whose barn went up in flames. I also read about a community that stepped up to help harvest crops that belonged to a farmer with cancer. Talk about having some optimism despite tragedy and loss!

I’ve discussed my childhood before and growing up on a dairy farm. However, pondering what Will Rogers said brought back a lot of memories from when I grew up; some good memories and some bad, some happy and sad.

One memory I won’t ever forget is when I was awaken one night by hearing a cow heavily breathing right outside my window. Well, for those who have raised animals, we all know what it means when they are breathing heavy ... they probably have been running.

Upon going outside, my siblings, parents and I didn’t find just one cow out ... I’m sure you can finish my sentence. Ever play hide and seek in the middle of the night with a herd of 120 cows roaming through a field of corn that stands 7 feet tall?

Despite struggles and obstacles, for the majority of farmers there is always some memory they can look back on that makes them realize why they do what they do. It brings me to think of living a life with Christ as well. He never promised life would be easy, but He did promise He would go through the storm with us. And as fellow believers, he encourages us to help others in the time of need and even on those days where you know someone needs just a few words of encouragement.

Optimism and farming are quite the perfect pair. If farmers didn’t know how to stay positive and laugh at the silly things, I think we would be lacking a lot of food and other important things. Farmers are good at getting back up when knocked down and keeping their eye on the prize, for they know they have a world waiting on them to rise each morning.