Sometimes the New Family Stories Are Good, Too

Some of the Best Family Stories Are New Ones

Last year we only baled 16 large bales off the meadow due to the severe drought so I managed the winter feeding with incredibly slim margins and a great deal of prayer. We thanked the Lord profusely as the rains began coming every month in 2013 totaling over 30 inches through August.

What joy and thankfulness filled our hearts when Tim Gates agreed to bale the meadow for a second time in late August! This was so meaningful to us since he was downsizing and attempting to get out of the custom hay baling. When Tim pulled in with his equipment and began cutting the rain-strengthened meadow, Dad remarked, “He’s a good man.”

The next morning when Tim resumed his work in the meadow here on the farm, Dad commented, “He’ll do it right.”

As I have reflected, this recent farm story wrapped in family love and commitment tied together by faith, surely does have a powerful connection with our ancestry.

I recall being told that Aunt Mamie commented about her father, Edmund, Sr., “Papa was a man of principles.” How better can Tim carry on the principles of his grandfather than with his dependability undergirded by a strong work ethic. I am grateful that Tim is the one to be entrusted with the soon-to-be “centennial” Gates family farm.

In turn, I hope the rest of us who descend from Mamie Irene Tripp Gates and Edmund Gates, Sr. will live out daily the principles of hard work, honesty, reliability, and many other qualities that they valued but seem to be in short supply in the 21^st century.

Here are photos taken after Tim baled and stored a record baling of 39 bales in the last cutting to bring the total number of bales to 67! What a blessing!