Apple of God’s Eye

Photo credit: Charlotte Martin Stone

A day at the Virginia farm makes me think about a lot of things… One thing is the beauty of God’s creation. Acres. Sunsets. Corn fields. A big old elm tree that used to have a swing hanging from it. Barns. Cows. The screened porch. The pond. Shots at clay pigeons. Turkeys. Tractors. Memories of sprinklers. Kids splashing. One lone cat. The porch swing. Humming birds. Crepe myrtles. Family gatherings at LaGrange.

So much history has unfolded at this one family farm. Surely God’s grace and goodness is seen here. We have been part of His story for generations. Faith was passed along. And the family – the inheritance that is specific to my mom’s side of the family tree. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters. Picnics. Stories. “Batten-isms.” Country ham. Country roads. Just country. Away from all the hubbub. God made us a family and He gave us a farm to enjoy.

I’m not sure why the farm calls to me in this season of my life, even when I ignored its whispers in my youth. But, the farm reminds me to get quiet and see things. Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”

The farm reminds me. Psalm 37:18 “The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. ”

The farm gives me this song of gratitude. Psalm 65:9-13, “You (God) care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so You have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.”

The apple tree on the farm echoes a discovery of my faith journey. Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” By His grace, I became part of God’s story there. I became the apple of His eye. Now I am old enough to know it.