As they say, you know you’re in Saskatchewan when the weather changes every five minutes. As I write, snow is falling. By the time you read this column, we may have a third kick at summer. For the better part of the year, the weather has been unpredictable and uncooperative.
Being raised on a mixed farm, I am ever-mindful of the challenges that farmers and ranchers have faced this year. We stared drought in the face this spring; the kind of drought that could take an operation out and then saw it turn around into an overabundance of unseasonal precipitation this fall. Uncanny.
My heart goes out to each and every one of you producers. Being a teenager during the drought in the 80s, I remember that dark, ominous feeling I had when funds were tight as a drum. As I’ve shared in this column over the past several years, Hubby and I faced a lack of grass and feed for our horses and could not see a solution unless it rained. The good news was...it rained. Praise God.
I have grown so much in my faith since 2017 as we stared drought in the face three springs in a row. The first year I went from feeling as though I couldn’t breathe at night to this year not even worrying about what would happen. A little background to this story... You see, we had considerably downsized in 2016 and up until then, had never had a shortage of grass for our horses until we moved to the much smaller land base. I experienced fear constantly whispering in my ear in 2017 to this spring of 2019, when I relied on God’s promises and rested in His provision.
It did not matter how He was going to supply. I did not take the time to figure it out (because it never works out how you think it will anyway) and each time that little whisper of fear would come, I would cast it aside and choose to trust God. Here we are five months later and in better shape than we started. Our slough has recovered, we got enough hay put up and the grass is still green and growing.
How are you sleeping at night? Are you tense? Sharp tongued and impatient with your family because fear has a strangle hold on you? Dear one, I implore of you... stop doing life this way. Trust God. Psalm 116:7 “Relax and rest, be confident and serene, for the Lord rewards fully those who simply trust in Him.” Do not rely on your own provision. When your hands are tied, that’s a great time to submit your worries to God. “Give your worries to the Lord, and He will take care of you.” Psalm 55:22
I am reminded of the passage in Habbakuk 3:17,18 “Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!”
How can we praise God in those circumstances? It is because He will supply a way out! He is our salvation! He is our provision!
Let me encourage you, dear one. Look away from your problems and look towards your provider. Your circumstances may seem overwhelming but take courage, God has a plan. He always has a plan! Ask Him for wisdom and see what He’ll do.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
