Last night as I was eating a baked bean sandwich ( leftover baked beans on buttered bread) I was thinking about growing up on the farm. Nearly everything we ate came from the farm. My parents were married in 1933. Think the Great Depression (1929-1941). They had a quiet wedding ceremony with their parents in Newton, Iowa, away from their homes near Albion and Liscomb, Iowa. They were both active in the Bethel Grove Church of Liscomb, I never asked why they went away to marry.
Their entire income came from the farm. Nothing went to waste. For a time my dad would deliver fresh milk to local folks. The farm was nearly self-sufficient. They raised milk cows, chickens for eggs and meat, pigs they would butcher. They had an enormous garden that provided bountiful fresh vegetables for meals and for canning to supply food for winters in Iowa. Times were hard.
Their depression-era lifestyle became part of their character. Nothing went to waste. There was no trash, only things to use again, perhaps in a different way. Clothes were handed down to the younger children and when I came along, the cloth from clothes was reconfigured into a new style.
My mother fulfilled the qualities of a Proverbs 31 woman:
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all," (Proverbs 31:25-29 NIV).
In this generation of wastefulness, and everything disposable, the depression-era generation stands out as wise and frugal.
Oh, God of generosity and grace, thank you for this day of blessings. Help us follow Your way in all we do. Show us what is good and pleasing to You. Guide our steps and protect our families with Your love. We offer our praise to You alone, God, and we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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