 |
| The Peacable Kingdom by Edward Hicks |
Today was not a busy day, but it was one of those where because of one or two things you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. And so it was with real joy that I settled into a hickory rocker on the front porch after completing my barn chores at about 10:30 Eastern Standard Time. The terriers, who had been chasing small unwelcome animals at the barn, finally settled in with me. We watched the shooting stars and listened to the constant drumming of the crickets and the call of the katydids. I can't remember when I've enjoyed my evening ration of Redbreast and Navy Flake any more. Amazingly, there was not a coyote within earshot, which is a very good thing (they run out the fox and kill more fowl than any fox ever dreamed of.) It is cool enough now in the evenings to wear a kilt for chores, and somehow, the garmet just seems right for rural life.
When I was a boy, living on the edge of town, I used to wander the fields and woods and dream of a time when I would be able to own property for the long haul. When I went to college and began to read agrarian and romantic literature, I came to imagine ownership more as stewardship and less as control. And now here we are, lost in the beauty of a late summer evening in southeastern Ohio. There is here for me a sense of belonging, and of commitment to the people with whom I share this garden of the earth. Someone asked me a few weeks back if we were planning to move when we retired. My answer was as it has been for some years now, "no- we've got a farm and grave lots."
It is good to commit to a people and a place, and to belong. Would that we all might discover the communities to which God is calling us; and in those places and among those people find contentment and peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment