Owning a farm will make you realize this: the work is never done. A couple of weeks ago, we worked tirelessly on cleaning a fence row, putting up an electric fence, and repairing some broken barbed wire. When we finally arrived back at my in-laws house, my sweet and encouraging mother-in-law asks “Did ya’ll get done??”. She asks the question with hope, but knows the answer is always “no”. When you have a farm, the work is never done. Oh you may think for a minute or two that it is complete, but inevitably there is always something that needs to be done. Just when you think you’re headed in to the house, the phone rings and someone tells you the cows have gotten out…or you’re about to leave going out of town and realize that a calf is sick…or you make plans to go to dinner only to find out that a piece of equipment that you will need tomorrow is not working. Broken fencing, equipment failures, sick animals, too much rain, not enough rain, and not enough time. We manage as best we can, taking care of the most important things first and sometimes having to split up in to different groups to tackle all that we need to accomplish for the day. With the majority of us having full-time, off-the-farm jobs, this creates a whole other time concept that has to be managed. Most days we forge through, praying for enough time in the day, and God provides. We are tired, and we don’t always get it all done…but God is faithful. Just as we are in a constant state of work on our farm, God is in a constant state of work in us. Thankfully, He is never finished with us. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) We are God’s handiwork…his masterpiece as some versions of the Bible recount. It is humbling to think that we are God’s “masterpiece”, which is defined as “a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship”. He began His work in us and will never give up on us. Just like we are never done on the farm, God is never done with us. He is continually working in us and through us to accomplish His goals. To make us better people. To make us better servants for Him. Even on the days that we are covered in cow poop…He is still working on us. When we fall trying to get a cow in the chute, run out of gas, get stepped on by a bull, hit a rock with the baler, run out of twine, hit our thumb with a hammer, and are just ready to throw in the towel, He doesn’t give up on us. Even in those days we want to give up, God doesn’t give up. He is there, guiding us and teaching us how to handle all our situations in life (and on the farm) with grace and purpose. There are also those times that He is just teaching us not to be stupid so we don’t get killed the next time. Our farm is anything but a masterpiece. Most days it is covered in mud, cow poop, dust, dirt, and a few choice words. But at the end of the day we can look back and physically see the work that we have accomplished. We continue to work, despite it not always “looking” pretty. It is one of those jobs where we can look behind the tractor and see the hay that we have cut, or we can see the healthy calves that we spent so much time taking care of. It is gratifying in so many ways. Like life on the farm, the work in us is never done. We must never fall for the lie that we do not have any work to be done in us. The Apostle Paul put it this way “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) God’s work is only ever done when Jesus calls us home. So let us hold our heads high, wipe the mud from our boots, and carry on through all of life…and the farm. The work is never done.
“This is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
