Faithfully yours - Four weeks of gratitude - part two

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Published on Monday, October 15, 2018

By Neil Strohschein

Neepawa Banner & Press

This month, I am sharing twelve things for which I am grateful. Last week’s column contained the first three. This week - items four, five and six.

4) My Roots: the family farm

In 1950, a young man from Wetaskiwin, AB and a young lady from Torrington, AB were married in a little church in Trochu, AB. They moved to a farm seven miles north-east of town and began building a life together. Their first home was a three-room house. One year later they welcomed their first child, a son—me. Two more sons would join the family over the next 10 years.

A bigger family needed a bigger house, so two rooms were added to the original three-room structure and a few years later, a modern house replaced it. An additional quarter section of land was also added to the farm, along with more grain bins, sheds and corrals to accommodate a mixed farming operation.

That farm is still in the family today. My youngest brother took it over when my dad retired and now he shares the yard with his son (my nephew) and his family.

Although I left the farm many years ago, it is still “home” to me. I am very thankful for the years I spent there and for the lessons learned during those years.

5) Values: hard work, community and faith

From the moment we were able to do so, my brothers and I were helping on the farm. We had daily chores and assigned tasks like lawn mowing, cleaning pig pens, fixing fence, etc. In those days, farm boys were given two weeks of excused absence from school to help with the harvest—and we took full advantage of that privilege.

We were fortunate to have extended family living close by and we worked together, especially during harvest. No combine was ever put away until every neighbour’s crop was in the bin. In an emergency, we dropped everything to go and help a neighbour in need. We were more than neighbours. We were a community. We worked together, we celebrated our successes together and we wept together when tragedy struck.

Most importantly, we prayed together, because farming and faith go hand in hand. The farmer plants his seed, the rains water it, but God is the one who gives the increase. On Thanksgiving Sunday, we always thanked God for the harvest, for good health that has kept us free from injury and for the community of friends who have helped us in the past year.

6) My family: I’ve learned much from them

Being part of a family is a humbling experience at the best of times. I am blessed with a wife and kids who are totally unimpressed with what I do for a living. They want me to be me—nothing more. I keep telling them that they need to be careful what they wish for because they just might get it; and there are some days when the “me” that comes out isn’t the “me” that anyone (including me) wants to see.

But I have learned a lot from them. I have seen them demonstrate perseverance in the face of tragedy and have learned from them (especially from my wife) how to savour every moment of every day and take life one day at a time.

We have been through challenging times, just like every family. But I am incredibly proud of the things my daughters and step-sons have achieved and I thank God every day for every one of them.