Two weeks ago, I shared with you the story of my father growing up on his farm in the 1940s.  If you missed it, I relayed this from my father:

“When I was a young man on the farm in the 40’s, wheat harvest was a two-stage project.  My Father cut the crop in late summer with a horse drawn binder, which bound the stalks loaded with grain into bundles about 40 pounds each.   My mother and I stacked these into shocks, the wheat bundles standing upright, grain husks toward the top with six or eight bundles to a shock and one on the top horizontally as a cap for weather protection, awaiting the thresher.”

Now, my grandparents had my father a little later in life.  They had one stillborn daughter before my father, and did not anticipate being able to have my dad.  Therefore, Grandma Catherine was 36 when my father was born.  Nothing wrong with that!  I had Mike when I was 36 too (must run in the family).

That being said, when she was grabbing those 40 pound grain bundles, she was probably about 46 years old.  I never got to meet my grandma, but the stories of her being a hard worker have certainly been passed down to my generation.  She was tough - I hear she even shot a snake off the side of the farm house with a shotgun!

This got Jim and I talking. He figures tough women run in my family, and it is time for me to start mowing the lawn.

I am waiting for a riding lawnmower.

We are all called to work hard in our lives and to work for the glory of God.  This, I remind Jim, is what I am doing.

Plus, time for that teenager of ours to mow the lawn.

I think he is waiting for a riding lawnmower too.

Learn how to take an active part in your faith life this weekend - as we discuss “Working the Fields.”