Friday, June 18, 2010

The Footpath - chapter two

Arlene was lost in her own little world – a world of tranquility and sunshine. Reminiscing about her childhood as she drove she relived her carefree days on the farm. She had to get up at sunrise and would put in a full day’s work but the satisfaction of accomplishment at day’s end was immensely gratifying. In her mind she was much closer to God on the farm than she was in the suburbs. Was she closer to Him because she depended upon Him more or was it because she didn’t have as many responsibilities? Perhaps, she thought, responsibilities steal our dependence on God.

She remembered the first time she was allowed to ride on the tractor with her dad. She felt so grown up, even though she was only seven years old. It was a bumpy, jostling ride to the field. When they arrived her dad had stopped the tractor giving her time to take in the beauty of everything around them. She had never seen a field like this one. It seemed to stretch into the horizon.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?” her dad had asked.

“Dad, it’s beautiful” she replied. “I love the flowers growing here.” “Did you plant them?”

“Nope they’re just flowers that come up wild.” “But take a good look ‘cause they won’t be here for long.”

“Why do you say that?”

“This field needs to be plowed. It means the flowers will be destroyed by the plow. We hafta git this field ready for plantin’. When you plant a new crop everythin’ in the field has to go. You ready?”

“I guess so.” She wasn’t really sure what was going to happen but she was with her dad and that seemed to make everything okay.

The plow was lowered and the tractor began groaning as it pulled its weight through stubborn soil. She thought about his words every time new furrows were plowed. “When you plant a new crop everythin’ in the field has to go.” Her dad was right. Everything did have to go. The plow had no mercy on the field. She glanced across the field. The plow had done its job. The wild flowers were gone. All that was left was freshly turned earth. She like the smell but felt sad for the flowers.

They were a church going family and her dad took opportunities like this to help his children become better acquainted with the Bible. Her dad kept one eye on the plow as he shared what he called ‘God things.”

“Did you know the Bible has a lot to say ‘bout farmin’?” he asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Everthin’ you see out here was started by God. Fact is, God loves farmin’ so much He started His work right on a farm. It’s a fact!”

Arlene’s eyes grew wide. She had never heard anything like this before. She felt an out of the ordinary excitement and curiosity. She waited with anticipation for the next revelation from her dad.

“The Bible tells us God made man from the dust of the ground then put the breath of life in him. While Adam watched, God planted a garden with trees of ev’ry kind an’ put a river right through it’s middle and then put Adam there – tol’ him to take care of th’ land.”

She could hear the pleasure increasing in his voice. Dad loved talking about the Bible with his kids.

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the tractor suddenly lurched as the plow jumped out of the ground. Arlene, who had been sitting on the rear fender was thrown from the tractor and slammed to the ground. Everything went black…

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