My sister found this photograph recently and sent me a copy. I’m related to most of the people in the photo. My grandfather and my dad are in the middle of the picture, holding the mugs. Goodness, it’s like a different world!
My grandfather and my dad are in the middle of the picture, holding the mugs. Goodness, it’s like a different world! My grandfather started his working life as a hired hand. Every year he would go to the farmers market looking for work, as did many young men back then. He would be hired just for one year. It was during this period that he met my Nana who just happened to be the boss’s daughter! A hired hand failing in love with the Farmers daughter! Scandalous!
Grandpa and Nana eventually married but apparently her family never fully recovered from the fact that, in their opinion, she had ‘married beneath her’!
By the time this picture was taken Grandpa was renting his own farm and was clearly doing ok.
He even had a bit of a side line…taking in difficult, temperamental horses that no one else could manage. Other farmers would pay him to take them for a while, work with them and then send them back when they had learnt to behave a little better.
They were big; the shire horses, and heavy! If one of them stood on your foot you certainly knew about it and grandpa certainly wasn’t a big man.
On reflection he must have been courageous! Daring to ‘court’ my nana despite the shock and scandal of it all! That took courage. Daring to rent his own farm, which was a risky thing to do. Daring to work with what others would call ‘nasty’ heavy horses! A kick from one of them could kill you! I suspect there were moments of fear, but clearly he didn’t give in to it.
We may not have to work with heavy horse these days but most of us experience fear at one time or another. The fear of illness, loneliness, loss, rejection etc etc.
These fears are understandable but we should never allow them to dictate how we live our lives. I would hate for us to miss out of God’s blessing because fear stops us from moving forward.
When fear looms over us, let’s ask God for courage, and quote the psalmist who wrote; The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? … (Psalm 27) The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid. (Psalm 118)