Pasture to Freezer

When we came to the farm a little more than ten years ago, having a few cows was a part of the plan.  For a number of reasons being able to eat homegrown, grass fed beef seemed like a good idea.  Each time one of those cows that grazed in the pasture goes in the freezer, it creates a greater sense of respect for the cost of the food which comes to our table.  As the years have slipped by and several steers have become part of our daily bread, eating has become a sacred thing not to be done hurriedly, but slowly and with profound appreciation.  Throwing away what is leftover is unthinkable.  Every morsel requires respect.     

The vast majority of folks cannot live in a close relationship to the food being eaten.  A culture that was once more agrarian has now become mostly urban and pastures where cows graze seems like another world.  And, of course, our fast food meals eaten while we are on the way somewhere does little to connect us to an important part of the Creation and an awareness that what we eat is a precious gift which costs much sweat for workers and sometimes life itself for the animals which sustain us.  

When Jesus taught us to pray about our daily bread, He was surely reminding us that what we eat is not to be taken for granted.  His Words also speak to us about the source of what it is that gives us life.  Our life is dependent on the provision He provides for us through the life giving earth and all that is a part of its order. What sustains us day to day may come to us by the work of our hands, but it passes through His hands first.