I stood at the sink washing dishes when the suspicious sound of metal striking metal rang out through the quiet countryside.
I shook the suds off my hands and went to look out the window to the back yard. Dad swung the sledge hammer in the air and brought it down on a wedge stuck in log. The wood split perfectly in two. Dad picked up the pieces and stacked them on the wood pile, then stuck the wedge in the next log and swung again.
Nothing unusual about that. Until you consider that Dad is 88 years old.
He’s truly inspiring in his spirit of perseverance. The idea of waking up and not going to work has never occurred to him. That’s probably why he’s running circles around guys half his age.
This weekend, he bought a new tractor. Not a brand new tractor, but another used tractor just like one he had 40 years ago.
I was talking about his new purchase to a friend, acknowledging that Dad shows no sign of slowing down.
“He’s in it for the long haul,” I said.
And then I got to thinking. In our quick-change society, how many of us are in it for the long haul. I think especially about ministry. A few weeks of my Connection Group having low attendance or ebbing attention and I’m often thinking that I’m ineffective and need to move on to something else.
How many poor crop yields, lackluster harvests and dead calves has my Dad experienced in 88 years. Yet I don’t imagine he ever once thought he shouldn’t be a farmer.
With that dedicated mindset, I look at our book and the rejections it has rung up. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to buy a new tractor, or rewrite a chapter. I’m in it for the long haul.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap a harvest if we do not lose heart.” Galations 6:9
