Fat Barns Full

Oh!  Here he goes!

He got it!  The little tomato snatcher!

I have always enjoyed reading the accounts of people living during the Great Depression.  It is fascinating to hear their stories; their tenacity in times of trouble is inspiring.  One thing always puzzled me though...  I have always wondered why, when so many people were hungry and needy, farmers dumped milk and ruined crops.  How could they DO that when the nation went hungry?  It baffled and shocked me.  I NEVER thought I would live to see the day that it would happen again.

But here we are in 2020 with Farmers dumping milk in fields and manure lagoons.  Perfectly good vegetables being plowed under or buried.  Eggs destroyed. Pigs, cows and chickens slaughtered instead of sold.  

And plenty of people are hungry.

I really can't fathom the tragedy of these losses.  Even more so, the tragedy of the losses to come because of these losses.

The supply chain will certainly be smaller and if these items are in short supply they either won't be accessible for people to buy at all OR they will be too expensive to buy (at least for us).  It's simple supply/demand.  I feel certain that these things cannot happen without dire consequences.  

I feel certain that many of the things happening today cannot happen without dire consequences.

The Lord provides, it's true.  One of the things He provides is the wisdom and strength to prepare and load up those barns.  

I was inspired recently by this sermon:  

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

B. Merkle speaks about how the common interpretation of that verse is to 'be a hard worker like the ant' but in fact... the wise thing that we ought to consider about her ways is not necessarily her 'hard work' but what comes after that verse: Without having anyone tell her what to do, she prepares and gathers and sets about with the work set before her.  

I don't know.  That struck me as quite profound.  

And so, like Joseph, I am looking at how best to utilize these fat months for the inevitable lean times to come.  And how to insulate us as best as possible for the possibility of hard times ahead.

And all the while, I look at these overwhelming bowls and buckets that have been lining my porch all summer and am just overcome by the goodness of these gifts.  I am ever so grateful for such a productive garden this year- and the strength to tend it.