After all these years... I finally went out and did some photos to accentuate the most wonderful story of my early married life! There are many stories, mind you, of a city girl adjusting to a "farmwife" role, but they are a lot of times not so wonderful or special. Rather now I cringe at the thought of my ignorance and naivety! 
I was truly a newlywed newly farm wife as about this time of year... I would have been married two months... 32 years ago... my wonderful mother in law came over to help me take out the garden that the woman that had lived in our house before we moved in had put in.... there were some potatoes and "mom Verly" asked me if I had a potato fork...
"Sure I do!" I said and went into the house and to the silverwear drawer and pulled out a fork. I took it out and handed it to her...
She took it from me and even started digging around in the dirt with it... then without the slightest hint of criticism or even humor... she said to me; "Barbie, a potato fork is a large tool that is used to dig potatoes and carrots out of the ground." 
At the time I felt a bit silly, but I was probably learning about 50 new things a day in this strange new environment of the farm and new role of wife to a farmer! Believe me it was a dream come true for me, but I was also so green! So I just chalked it up to another lesson learned!
But over the years... I have truly come to appreciate the gentleness and kindness and loving way that she handled me... She could have laughed in my face for sure! Instead she even used it a bit before she kindly taught me something new! To me this is the wonderful story that really has shown me the great special lady that I was blessed with to help form me not only into the farm wife that I am today,but in a lot of ways the wife and mother that I am today!
In these last years... now that she is a widow and we had our hips replaced within 10 days of each other back almost 2 years ago now... hers was due to a bad break and so with her additional age and the damage... it is slow for her! As a result we have been blessed with a lot more wonderful time together, especially at church!
We have become... much to my delight... fellow prayer warriors as we go for our hour with the Lord together! Going to Adoration together is tremendous for me! WE don't sit side by side... as we each are in an intensely private and deep place, but to know that we each value and believe in the Lord's presence there and in our lives and His love for us and our families, and His work that is taking place in them due to our prayers!
What a glorious sight as the sun rose over the bean field in front of our house this morning... may the sun's rays allow the men to harvest the crop that is now very ripe and ready!
Sharing those prayers with my wonderful mother in law, and to have her now more a part of our lives since her independence has been diminished by her slow recovery from her hip... we have been blessed to have her more with us! It is a cross for her and her ability to go, but she is still able to do that slowly!
The newly risen sun was an amazing paintbrush that gave me delight as I lovingly remembered the wonderful mother that modeled for me what being a farm wife and mother of 10 means! I am the mother of 11, but I only have 5 here with me... the deepening the losses has meant to me is something that is different for me than her... I do, however, feel that watching her total love and sacrifice was a huge lesson to me! Thank you Lord for her and may the Lord and all his angels surround her with love on this her day of birth - 91 years later!
Today is the feast of the guardian angels - and there is a wonderful meditation today written by Cardinal Jean Danielou (1974) about how the angels pray with us when we pray... ""The angel, indeed, of each one, even of the little ones in the Church, always seeing the face of the Father who is in heaven and beholding the divinity of the Creator, prays with us , in as far as is possible, in what we seek."
Psalm 34 from morning prayer:
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
On this cool morning we just had a family time having the cows go across the road to the pasture on the other side... the guradian angels were all around us protecting us from any harm! I can see them hovering with their wings all around us! From the opening hymn:
This day God sends me
Strength as my guardian,
Might to uphold me,
Wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful,
Your ears are listening,
Your lips are speaking,
Friend at my side.
God's way is my way,
God's shield is round me,
God's host defends me,
Saving from ill.
Angels of heaven,
Drive from me always
All that would harm me,
Stand by me still. ( sing to the tune of Morning is Broken)
Dear Lord, It is so special to see your hand on our lives and the wonderful people that you give us to guide us along the journey... also the protection we feel around us knowing that our guardian angels are there with us at all times! Never alone! That gives us peace and joy! Bless my mother in law today and thank you for her! Her saying "yes" to family and her taking this ignorant girl under her wing! Jesus we trust in you! Amen and Halleluia!
Bless-bless, Barb
Bless the effforts of the farmers to get the crop out, Lord!
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