Frank and Judy inherited the...
Illustration
Frank and Judy inherited the family farm when Frank's father retired. For the first few
years things went well: grain and cattle prices were high and the weather was conducive
to growing good crops. When a neighbor came to Frank and told him he wanted to sell
his land, Frank and Judy decided to buy. Even though interest rates were on the rise and
the price of land per acre was prime, still Frank and Judy reasoned they could
manage.
With the increased acreage, Frank needed bigger machinery to work it. He purchased a bigger tractor, combine, and other field equipment, not new, but still expensive. Things looked good for Frank and Judy.
But then came the glut of grain on the market with the corresponding falling of prices and prohibitive interest rates. Though the price of grain fell, the cost of farming the land and servicing the debt rose. Frank and Judy struggled. Judy got a job in town to help out financially. But in the end, nothing worked. Frank and Judy lost everything.
"You can't imagine the shame," Frank told his pastor. "We lost the family farm that was homesteaded by my great-grandfather." Frank began to drink to hide his shame.
The community's pastors decided something had to be done for Frank and the many other farmers who had lost their livelihood. A support group was founded for farm families who had suffered the devastating loss of their farms. As the farmers talked and supported each other, they began to see that they were part of a larger economic system over which they had no control. They discovered that in the move to larger and larger farms, the family farm was doomed to fail.
Frank got a job as a farm manager for a large corporate farm. He related to his pastor several years later, "You can't believe the feeling when the shame was lifted from me. I felt like I had been born again."
God, through the prophet, Zephaniah, promised to lift the shame of God's people, and in Jesus they were born again.
With the increased acreage, Frank needed bigger machinery to work it. He purchased a bigger tractor, combine, and other field equipment, not new, but still expensive. Things looked good for Frank and Judy.
But then came the glut of grain on the market with the corresponding falling of prices and prohibitive interest rates. Though the price of grain fell, the cost of farming the land and servicing the debt rose. Frank and Judy struggled. Judy got a job in town to help out financially. But in the end, nothing worked. Frank and Judy lost everything.
"You can't imagine the shame," Frank told his pastor. "We lost the family farm that was homesteaded by my great-grandfather." Frank began to drink to hide his shame.
The community's pastors decided something had to be done for Frank and the many other farmers who had lost their livelihood. A support group was founded for farm families who had suffered the devastating loss of their farms. As the farmers talked and supported each other, they began to see that they were part of a larger economic system over which they had no control. They discovered that in the move to larger and larger farms, the family farm was doomed to fail.
Frank got a job as a farm manager for a large corporate farm. He related to his pastor several years later, "You can't believe the feeling when the shame was lifted from me. I felt like I had been born again."
God, through the prophet, Zephaniah, promised to lift the shame of God's people, and in Jesus they were born again.
