So God Made Best Friends

"We all have different gifts that God has given us by His loving favor. We are to use them. If someone has the gift of teaching, he should teach." Romans 12:6-8

Today, September 21st, is National Teach Ag Day 2017. I am so thankful for my teachers and the opportunities they gave me through agricultural education and FFA, the friends that I have made that are now my colleagues, my college professors that have prepared me to teach, my cooperating teacher for student teaching who is my mentor, my teaching partner who has guided me through my first month of school, my family who has deep roots in Ag Ed, and most importantly, God.

Before I changed my major to Agricultural Education and I was deciding if it was the right path for me, I ran it by one of my best friends, Quade. He gave me full support and encouraged me to do so. I am so thankful for him and his friendship. For my wedding present, he wrote this for me and I wanted to share his words because they are absolutely wonderful.

So God Made Best Friends

By: Quade Erker

And on the Eighth Day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need some caretakers.” So God made a couple of farm kids.

God said, “I need somebody who can be up at the crack of dawn to check cattle, spend the cool morning working her steers, help her grandmother prepare the harvest meal, work steers again, then stay up all night to finish a school assignment. I need somebody who can rogue rye in the hot summer sun not with a bitter attitude, but with a smile.

Somebody who cares so much for the beauty of what she does that she will be up an hour before the sun to drive across the farm to the perfect spot, just to capture that moment when the sun’s rays scrape the backs of the cattle in an open pasture.” So God made a farm girl.

God said, “I need somebody who is not afraid to get dirty. Somebody who can be up at first light with a mug of coffee to service combines, then spend the next 18 hours harvesting his crop. I need somebody who can clean a horse corral, build his own hydraulic hoses, patch his own tires, and yet manage the most up to date precision ag technology. I need somebody who can stomach the smell and heat of cleaning a grain bin, and come out of it with a smile knowing it was a job well done. Somebody who is wise enough to manage chemical applications and variable rate planting, yet humble enough to rogue rye by hand.” So God made a farm boy.

God said, “I need somebody who knows that agriculture is more than just planting and harvesting crops, it’s a way of life.” God raised the farm girl to have a passion for agriculture bigger than herself by involving her in 4H, county fairs, FFA, and her family farm. God taught her to always put others before herself and to go that extra mile to make a connection with somebody. God knew that as time went on that agriculture would need a voice, somebody to teach others about the industry and to help spark the same passion that burns in her into the hearts of others. So God made an Ag Teacher.

God said, “I need somebody who will put his crops second only to his family and friends. It had to be somebody who would plow deep and straight, and not cut corners. Somebody who could stay up to date with the newest technology and practices, yet wise enough to remember the teachings of his grandfather, and his grandfather before him. Somebody who would pray every morning and every night that God continues to bless him with this way of life, and that his crops be blessed with the moisture that they need.” God said, “I need somebody who loves the soil as much as I do.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I will raise these farm kids to be the best ag teacher and farmer that they can be, but without one there would not be the other.” God said, “If there is no farmer then there is no need for the ag teacher, and without the ag teacher there would be no hope for the farmer, for without one the other could not prosper.” So from toddlers through adulthood, God united the two farm kids. He raised them in the same community and the same school, made them join the same clubs, and gave them the same agricultural background. He taught them the same values and made sure they always took care of one another. And when it came time for the two farm kids to leave home, God made sure that while they were gone their hearts remained at home, so that one day they would return to start their new lives as ag teacher and farmer, and that their friendship would never end.

So God made best friends.

This week, let's focus on giving the thanks to God for everyone He has given us and everything He sets in motion for us. We must always trust His plan instead of our own and know that even if something seems scary or out of our comfort zone, that He will be with us every step of the way. I am so happy I chose Agricultural Education for my career path and I will strive everyday to glorify Him.

"For I have plans for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11