Thursday, January 3, 2013

Belief and Endurance Throughout Life



Weeks before this photo was taken, my 91 year old dad asked me to order him many trees of assorted varieties. He said that if people did not start planting trees, there would be none for the next generation. He was especially interested in fruit bearing trees and flowering plants. When they arrived, they were only slightly larger than feathers but looked healthy. My husband offered to help daddy plant , but daddy said he couldn't just sit in his chair and had to get outside. The next day when I drove by to check on daddy, there he was digging the holes and planting. When I asked if he felt stable enough to be planting, he said when he got tired he just leaned on his golf cart or sat down in it. . The post hole digger was standing in the ground beside him and he said the dirt had to be broken with the digger before the shovel would dig out the soil. As usual, I was afraid for his safety, but he was content and felt productive. Having farmed all his life, he has taken pleasure in still being productive at age 91. As you can see by the tall pine trees behind him, he lives by what he believes. The next generation will need us to plan for them, even the oxygen they breathe.
Isaiah 46:4 NASB

4 Even to your old age a1will be the same,
And even to your 2bgraying years I will bear you!
I have 3done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you and I will deliver you.