I had a dream come true that I hand’t known to dream before. A big bus pulled onto our farm, and out poured all sorts of special friends from my childhood- my third grade teacher, many of my confirmation and sunday school teachers and all sorts of life-long friends of my family.
Earlier this spring I had been contacted by a dear friend at Shepherd of the Valley to see if we would host an affinity group that likes to set out on day trips all over the state. They had a Northfield day they were planning and wondered if our farm could be a stop.
Well this was a real joy because this is the church my folks planted in the basement of our home when I was just a baby. My dad was the senior pastor at Shepherd of the Valley for 30+ years. And it grew very large during his time there. I often lovingly called Shepherd of the Valley our fourth child because it was a huge part of our family and my entire upbringing.
I can’t imagine many have this opportunity in their life, but I got to welcome a group of these dear friends from my childhood to my farm and show them what I’m up to, introduce them to my children, show them our life. It was just so special.
Rory and Ivar gave a garden tour first, as we all anticipated heavy rain to arrive at any moment. As it turns out, it never rained while they were here! Ivar showed them his flock and talked about rotational grazing.
And then all 56 friends sat in our barn while we sang songs and each kid shared how they help out on the farm. Followed by fellowship as Elsie had made star bread and Alden made cookie bars.
Elsie showed her spinning wheel and loom, and Alden brought out a kitten to pass around. Hattie served the cookie bars with my mom and I just can’t tell you how full all of our hearts were. Rory told me recently that this morning was one of his favorite memories from our whole summer. We all agree.
And faster than we could have imagined, everyone had to load up because their next stop was lunch at St. Olaf. We were sad to say goodbye and decided we will just have to do this again.
