February 2013 Articles

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Just Rambling, February 2013

A few months ago, I received an Email entitled “Life From the Seat of a Tractor,” which highlights an old farmer’s words of wisdom. You know such wisdom is the best you can get, with one exception—the Bible. I thought you would enjoy some of these sayings. You know this wisdom comes from experience, which is life’s best teacher. The first words of advice are to “keep skunks and bankers at a distance.” I started to leave this one out, since I used to be a banker (I worked for Farm Credit for 30 years) and because I have so many bankers and Farm Credit associates advertising with me. But, I decided to include it. I definitely want to avoid skunks and, come to think of it, I have seen a few people in the lending business who were skunks as well. Hopefully, I wasn’t considered one of those skunks. Oh, and by the way, none of my advertisers are either!
“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.” If you have ever worked in new ground, you can appreciate this—there is nothing worse than hitting a solid stump. Think about it—we all face stumps in life, and it is much easier to figure out ways to avoid those stumps instead of plowing right into them, as many of us so often do.
“Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.” When I read this piece of wisdom, I think about the quotation from President Theodore Roosevelt: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” This quotation implies building respect with our fellow man through our actions, and not by demanding respect as we so often do. This advice ties in with another phrase of wisdom—“You cannot unsay a cruel word.” So many times, I have said things that were cruel, and then later I wished I hadn’t said them. So often we say things without thinking or in times of anger. Sure, we can apologize, and it is commendable if we do, but it would have been better to have never uttered the cruel words to begin with. Remember, the Bible tells us in James 1:26 to bridle our tongues. Another phrase of wisdom is, “It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.” Boy, did this one slap me in the face—how humbling this phrase is to those of us who so often carry grudges. Who are we hurting other than ourselves? “Forgive your enemies; it messes with their heads” is another admonition from the old farmer’s words of wisdom. How hard is this? Pretty tough, isn’t it, but we must remember that the Lord offers us forgiveness through his Scriptures and his Son when we have been controlled by his enemy, Satan. Just as we are offered forgiveness, we must forgive as well—just check Colossians 3:13. As the old farmer says, “Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time. The best sermons are lived, not preached, and the biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.” Take these words to heart by living simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God. Oh, by the way, “If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.”
Thanks to David Manuel for sending me this Email. We may look at some of the old farmer’s other words of wisdom next month—watch for them.
If you have been reading my “Just Ramblings” for very long, you will know that I am a sap when it comes to my children. I thought I would describe an experience I had last fall with my daughter, Dana. I think you will find it humorous, and maybe you fathers can relate. Dana came home in late October to inform me that she was planning a trip to Washington, D.C. on November 15th to see her boyfriend graduate from Marine Security Guard school in Quantico, Virginia. Of course, her mother already knew this—they were just planning when they thought would be the best time to tell me. As you probably already suspected, I didn’t react favorably to the thought of my little girl heading off to D.C. by herself. She informed me that both her boyfriend’s parents and grandparents would be at the graduation and were staying there as well. I still wasn’t happy, but after both she and her mother reemphasized the fact that she was 21 years old, and that she needed to move out of her comfort zone, I relented and said OK. Even though I said OK, I still couldn’t carry her to catch her flight. I told her brother, Cody, to take her, and not to just drop her off, but to make sure she safely reached her flight.
When she arrived in Washington, she let us know that she had made it and then kept everyone posted on Facebook with pictures and messages. Of course, I am not on Facebook, so I had to receive second-hand information from my wife and kids. Dana left on a Thursday, and by Saturday, I was really starting to miss her. As I sat on my deer-stand in the woods on the south-side of our property, I began to think about Dana. As I sat there, bored and with no deer in sight, I thought—it is time for me to learn to text on this cellphone. I don’t have a smartphone, just a cheap flip-phone, but I was determined to communicate with my daughter. With a little studying of the phone and with a lot of patience, I finally composed a text and sent it to Dana. Within a few minutes, a text came back from her and stated that she was doing good, having fun, and that she loved me. This just made my day—I had something to tell all the Facebookers—straight from my daughter to me. Oh, by the way, Dana had a great time meeting her boyfriend’s family, attending the graduation, and touring D.C, and I survived to wait for her as she stepped safely off the plane and arrived home at last. Van Bennett