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May 4, 2016

WHAT YOU PLANT NOW, YOU'LL HARVEST LATER


Planting has been in full swing here in Northern Indiana. Many farmers in the area have most of their corn in the ground but we are currently held up by the rain. We had a nice stretch of dry, warmer weather for about a good week and a half. It was just enough to give everyone a good start. This is typical in early May and during planting season. God loves to practice our patience to make sure we still have it sometimes.

It's always during this time, that I fall in love all over again with our life here on the farm. I admire my husband and his dedication to always having a good management plan to make sure our crops are in the ground every spring. Sometimes he stresses over the weather, the equipment and logistics of seed and crop protection applications but I reassure him if he does his best, that's all he can do and the rewards will come later.

Coinciding with planting corn and soybeans here in Indiana, everyone has been gearing up for Indiana Primary Elections. Many of us have been following along with the Presidential race. It's been an exciting ride and the coverage has been pretty extensive. I've enjoyed the fun political rivalry with office staff and friends. Beyond the Presidential race, however, we've had a few local candidates I have been following and supporting within the county and district/state. A good buddy of ours decided to run for County Commissioner. We live in a very rural county and a lot of the younger generations have moved away after high school. Some of us have stuck around. Most of us are farm families or families that want to raise the grandkids in their hometown with grandma and grandpa. Getting younger folks involved in the community has been a challenge. It was exciting for me to see this young man make take a leap of Faith and try something he's never done before. 

Yesterday morning, Election Day, I woke up earlier than usual to make sure I had plenty of time to get to the polls before work. I pulled up to our polling location, a little community center located in our forgotten little town along the Tippecanoe River. We don't even have our own zip code. We "borrow" one for our county seat. 

I jumped out of my truck and looked across the road at the tiny little church and the pretty wooded area that followed the lines of the river. I took a breath of fresh air and felt a sense of freedom. As I strolled up to the building, I ran into my buddy who was running for commissioner. As I gave him a friendly punch in the arm, I smiled and said, "BIG DAY!" We both stood there nervous and excited. I performed my civic duty, said my goodbyes to the gals working the polling location and headed back out to get into my truck. As I sat there, I watched my friend pull away. My eyes welled up in tears as I thought about all of the underprivileged countries that don't get to vote on their leaders or run for office and stand up for their beliefs, dreams, hopes and passions. I thought about the future of our rural county and how a young man woke up one day and decided he was going to make a difference.

Work was long that day. Everyone was anxious for the election results. 6:00 pm rolled around and votes were being tallied. I pulled up to the courthouse and walked in, joining my mother in law and saw some of the candidates dressed in their Sunday's best. We all joked around and talked about the day. Everyone shuffled their feet back in forth and stretched their necks out to watch as the tallies were being written on the dry erase board. 

As each township came in, we watched my buddy's opponent bring in slightly more votes each time. My heart was sinking but I remained positive and hopeful on the outside. Inside, I felt truthfully, either gentleman will do a great job but I knew how much my buddy wanted this opportunity.

As the final results came in, he realized he didn't win but stood there with a smile on his face. Many folks tapped his arm softly and said similar things like, "We are proud of you kid!" 

And they should be.

And he should be proud of himself. He did his absolute best. 

Much like in farming, the young seeds we plant now, we will harvest later. All we can do is do our best and the rest will fall into place. Whether you are farming, running for political office, raising children or climbing up the career ladder, remember that your attitude and your actions you plant now will shape your future. 

Corn doesn't grow over night and neither does success. 

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