Our Rural Roots

Meredith Bernard, Contributor

How can one love something that takes so much?

So many hours. So much toil. So many resources. So much labor. So many missed social events and family trips. So much heartache when an animal dies or a crop fails. So many early mornings and late nights. So much investment for often so little gain. So many what ifs, why nots, how comes and if onlys. So much uncertainty and very few assurances. So many variables so out of our control.

How can one possibly love a farm? Because a farm gives so much more than it takes.

So much pride in feeding your own family and countless others. So many memories doing the hard things together. So much joy in what some see as mundane but you see as miraculous. So many days spent making a life, not a living. So much value in what's ultimately priceless. So many life lessons that no book could ever teach. So much faith in the greater good and our God, who holds it and us all together.

To love a farm is not for the faint of heart, though some days it takes all we've got to keep our hearts strong, minds focused and feet moving. It's the hard days of farming that make the good days all the more worth it.

To love a farm is to push past fears, embrace change for the promise change can bring and learn from the mistakes of yesterday to make tomorrow better.

To love a farm is to cherish a life not many get to experience yet so many benefit from.

To love a farm is to find where patience and perseverance produce a bounty of hope.

To love a farm is one of the greatest privileges and sweetest blessings I've ever known.

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-- Meredith Bernard tends farm and family, and writes, takes photographs and celebrates life from North Carolina. Follow her on social media @thisfarmwife and visit her website at thisfarmwife.com

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