By Faith, Till the Work is Done

It seemed odd to me that our farm’s one-year anniversary fell on Easter Sunday. Almost sacrilegious. Easter: my most treasured holiday, filled with priceless memories.

A taped oven door, holding in the resurrection cookies...

New dresses, white tights, and lacy socks that reminded little girls that a child of God is dressed in beautiful linens of righteousness…

A dozen plastic resurrection eggs that, one day at a time, for weeks leading up to Easter, revealed a new facet of the jewels of the first Easter…

These traditions helped our family comprehend the immeasurableness of the grace that abounded on that first Maundy Thursday. They helped us glimpse the power that overcame the grave on that first Easter Sunday. They added up to 20 very special Sundays that have made me rich indeed.

So when my 15-year-old farmer realized that today–the 20th of my Mommyhood Easters–marked the 1-year anniversary of the beginnings of our farm menagerie… well, I didn’t like the idea much. Yes, one year ago today she and I drove home with a mini van full of cackling hens and fuzzy rabbits. And, yes, owning a full-blown farm made me see Christmas in a whole new light a few months ago. But cow patties and muddy ducks didn’t seem to fit into what Easter should be about.

It turned out, as we walked through our day–this Easter Sunday–I realized the analogy was just about perfect– the alignment of Easter with this first anniversary for our homestead, a filled-with-hard-work-but-overflowing-with-manna homestead.

God’s Faithfulness

Easter is, after all, a day filled with reminders of God’s grand design and faithfulness. A farm, filled with newborn animals and abundant fruit of the earth, reminds us of the creator’s grand design and faithfulness. This Easter Sunday, we were reminded of His sweet provision with the deep, confectionary aroma of boiling syrup from morning till evening. (My sweet husband–and lover of sweet maple syrup–even ran home between the church service and potluck lunch to check on the sugary goodness.)

The creator’s abundant provision was obvious in the crystal clear sap that was running like liquid manna through tubes and into lidded buckets.

Until the Work is Done

Easter is a day filled with reminders that we are called to walk by faith and fix our eyes on Him until the work is done. On a farm, the work is never done.

So I thought I’d share a glimpse into our family’s Easter day (that is the “before and after” of our Easter–before and after our church finery and worship service). Just a glimpse of the work many homesteaders do every day, with their eyes fixed, in faith, on our gracious creator who daily gives us glimpses into His faithfulness.

And I decided that Easter Sunday does, after all, share some similarities with every day on a farm. Spending a few reflective moments on Easter, or walking through a farm on any old day, one can realize God’s provisions and faithfulness in the midst of life’s difficulties and hard work. But through life, whether one is a homesteader or not, we all have to walk by faith…

Helping us Walk by Faith

By Faith, by Keith and Kristyn Getty.

By faith we see the hand of God

In the light of creation’s grand design

In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight.

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.

By faith the prophets saw a day

When the longed-for Messiah would appear

With the power to break the chains

of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave.

By faith this mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail

For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon His name.

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.

I hope your today is filled with reminders of God’s grand design. Reminders that He is faithful, even when we doubt. Reminders that although our days are full of work, the work can be rewarding, with sweet results, if we fix our eyes on Him until the work is done.

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2