Finding Contentment

Pray for rain

07:11 AM, Friday, December 28, 2007 .. Posted in Gardening .. 1 comments .. Link

Last year's garden.

Hubby and I are very concerned that we may not be able to plant a garden this spring. Our state is one of the many in the south that has been hit hard by a drought this year. And now, even in the middle of winter, we are under stage three water restrictions. That means that we cannot run water outside for any reason.

We have had droughts before but never any that were still this severe during the winter months. Unless something drastic happens we will be unable to plant a spring garden. What would be the point of planting if we can't water it? This means spending a lot more money at the grocery store for food.

The drought has become so bad that the North Carolina Baptist Association has sent out a missive to churches, dedicating Dec. 30 as "Pray for Rain Day." Here's some of what the missive had to say:

Drought is no stranger to the people of God, but neither is God’s willingness to bring rain. Elijah, through faith and obedience, prayed for and believed in the miracle of God to bring rain to the dry land.

The extreme drought of 2007 has caused severe hardships, especially to our farmers. It could hasten the end of many multi-generational family farms. This is not a one-year dry spell. The drought has been building for the last several years and it is predicted to continue into 2008. It has caused severe crop devastation and it has led to the depletion of livestock inventories.

Hay production has been particularly hard hit. The shortage in North Carolina could be as high as 200,000+ tons. That equates to about 450,000 large round bales. While some livestock can be fed damaged corn and soybean forage, there is simply not enough of these substitutes to materially reduce the need for hay.

When farmers are forced to sell off their livestock, the market is flooded and the prices they receive plummet. We all feel the impact later in the grocery stores when the inevitable meat shortages occur, causing the price of meat to soar.

Hay is available in the Northeast and upper Midwest, but it is difficult to get it to North Carolina due to high transportation costs. A large number of our Convention’s 4000 congregations are in rural areas. When farmers are hurting, their ability to add to the economy of their communities is reduced significantly and everyone is affected.

I know there are states that are even worse than ours. Please take a moment and pray that God brings His much needed rain to our area.