“As the rain and snow come down from heaven to earth, making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so My Word will not return to Me void.” (Isaiah 55:10&11)
While Henry did his daily chores on the farm (present-day Country Dairy), Scripture verses he’d read and memorized came alive, planting seeds in his soul that grew and flourished into a rock-solid faith and a personal relationship with his Lord.
We saw how rocks, removed from the soil before planting, reminded Henry of Jacob and his meeting with Jehovah at Bethel.
Likewise, clods removed from the soil reminded Henry of Paul’s admonition to “remove deceitful practices of your old self.” (Ephesians 4:22)
Seedtime would have brought to mind the parable. “A Sower went forth to sow… (Matthew 13:1 – 23)
When a new well was needed, Henry hired a “diviner,” who walked the property with a rod, which dipped and twisted when it detected a potential source of water, and he might have remembered Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well, telling her, “…whoever drinks the water I give, will never thirst.” (John 4:14)
Harvesting the cherries would bring Psalm 1 to mind: “…he is like a tree planted by rivers of water, yielding its fruit in season.” (verse 3) Resting under the shade of the majestic maple tree, he recalled verses describing his heavenly Father’s divine protection, comfort, and provision.
Henry recited Psalm 23 as he milked and tended his cows. Like sheep, cattle pasture, eat hay, and are herd animals; however, they have distinct personalities, exhibiting a mix of boldness, shyness, and curiosity. A pecking order revealed a leader who kept the others “in line,” going out to pasture and returning home at the end of the day.
My brother, Wendell, who worked with his dad and knew him best, noted that he tended to be a pessimist. As the birds kept him company, flitting about and singing, Jesus’s words must have brought him comfort: “Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow, reap, or store in barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself.” (Matthew 6:26&27) It’s interesting that my mother, a “newbie” to farm life, was the eternal optimist. Her mantra was “Don’t worry, Henry. God will provide.”
Harvest was a time of reaping and thankfulness for God’s goodness - even in a year when wind blight decimated the cherry crop, or milk was dumped because a cow had eaten a stray weed.
Good year or bad, my parents’ faith was evident every month as they placed ten percent of their earnings into a tithing jar, knowing that God didn’t merit just part of their profits. Everything they earned belonged to Him.
“Those who go out weeping shall return with songs of joy, carrying their sheaves with them.” (Psalm 126)
There was nothing Henry encountered in his work that demonstrated God’s power, sovereignty, and command over His world more than the weather.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways.” (Isaiah 55:9)
The weather’s unpredictability revealed Henry’s limited knowledge of God. It compelled him to believe that just as God controls the weather (for good or ill), He also controls our lives. Wind blight ruining the cherry crop, or a downpour washing away newly-planted seeds, challenged Henry’s faith, forcing him to trust in the face of despair and adversity.
Henry experienced the rhythms of life. Hen rose with the sun, labored under its watchful eye, and saw it plummet below the horizon at day’s end. “The sun rises and sets and hurries back to where it rises.” (Ecclesiastes 1:5)
He would often take a brief nap in his recliner after dinner, then head back to the fields with renewed energy. Sundays provided not only a day of rest (except for milking), but an opportunity to worship the God of nature in His sanctuary. “and God rested on the seventh day.” (Genesis 2:2)
After the harvest, chores were reduced to milking, mending machinery and readying potatoes for spring planting, giving Henry more time for reading, reflection, helping Ellen around the house, and traveling. Although he consented to travel, he didn’t need to “get away” to find rest and peace – he found that at home on the farm. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
“My Word will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. This will be for an everlasting sign which can never be destroyed.” (Isaiah 55:11b,13)
The life and legacy of Henry Van Gunst: Goal accomplished.
