Think Spring

I wish it were spring. While the days are getting longer, it is still cold outside where I live. In Spring, our spirits are filled with the hope of new possibilities. We are ready to take on and achieve new goals. Here in Michigan, it is not quite “seed starting time.” However, give it a few months and we’ll be ready to start planting.

Tobacco Seedbeds

Many of you know that I own 10 acres of my grandfather’s tobacco farm. According to my Uncle Grover, setting up tobacco seedbeds in the spring wasn’t the biggest job on the farm. To plant 40 acres, you needed six seedbeds, of about 8-feet wide by 50-feet long. The work started by breaking up the ground with a mule pulling a turning plow. The next step was to use a harrowing rake drawn behind the mule to level the ground and break up clods of soil. With this done, the farmer digs a small ditch, about eight inches deep, around each bed in order to drain off excess water. 

With everything ready, the seed was scattered onto the soil and covered with a thin cotton sheet sewn exactly to fit each seedbed. The sheet was propped up in the center to allow the seedlings to grow freely. The sheet was thin enough to allow the sun light and rain in, but also provided a measure of protection for the growing seedlings. Then, the farmer waits about six weeks for the seedlings to mature. However, the work isn’t done, each bed required almost constant weeding.

A Spooked Horse

My Uncle Grover did not like using a horse to work a field. A horse would rear up too easily. A mule had a much better temperament for this type of work. My uncle remembered one time his dad sent him to pickup a hay rake at a neighbors farm. He had the gear hooked behind a horse, and they were making their way on a path through the woods to the neighbor’s farm. Something spooked the horse. It reared up, turned around, and headed back toward home at a run.

It was all my uncle could do to stay on the back of that horse as tree branches hit him in the head as he ducked from side-to-side. When my uncle and the horse broke out of the woods, he could see his dad and a brother working out in the field. They saw the out-of-control horse and came running toward the spooked animal, which caused the horse to make a sharp turn, throwing my uncle to the ground. When he hit the ground, it knocked the breath out of him. It was a frightening experience at best. My uncle said he hasn’t rode another horse to this day.

Run with a Clear Goal

“Seed starting” is an important goal of Spring. Importantly, the Apostle Paul was intrigued with running and encouraged the Christ-followers in his day to run with a compelling and clear goal in mind (1 Cor. 9:24-26).

There are many reasons to get discouraged, but it is important to stay focused on our goals. Paul instructs us to deny ourselves of things that might keep us from winning the race. We must run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. 

Our race has eternal consequences. We are not just shadow-boxing or playing around. Let’s re-commit this new year to run the race to win. Yes, “think spring,” but stay focused. Perhaps, I’ll even be able to talk my uncle into getting back on a horse.

Also, see It’s Spring!

Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear