Every Parting ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton

"A chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped asunder in every parting, and time’s busy fingers are not practiced in re-splicing broken ties. Meet again you may; will it be in the same way? With the same sympathies? With the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying on in diverse paths, unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, rarely!"

~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bulwer-Lytton
Artwork from Steve Bjorkman http://www.stevebjorkman.com/

The Only Path ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Life always bursts the boundaries of formulas. Defeat may prove to have been the only path to resurrection, despite its ugliness. I take it for granted that to create a tree I condemn a seed to rot. If the first act of resistance comes too late it is doomed to defeat. But it is, nevertheless, the awakening of resistance. Life may grow from it as from a seed.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry

Artwork from 'typesticker'
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34564322@N03/sets/72157616842824366/?page=3

Small Gifts ~ 'Andrew'

"The slow, steady work of putting my hands in the ground, the mystery of what happens underneath the soil, the curious surprise of discovering a bright red tomato on the vine…these things are conditioning me, forming me into a particular type of person. I’m learning to see the bits of divinity dripping from these small gifts, wonderful and awesome in their complexity. I believe Richard Rohr when he says that God is constantly trying to give away parts of God’s self–we just fail to develop the patience to learn how to look for it."

~ 'Andrew' from Oakleaf Mennonite Farm

More at https://oakleafmennonitefarm.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/learning-to-pay-attention/

Artwork from Stephen Noble http://www.stevennoble.com/main.php

Affirms the Goodness ~ David J. Clark

"I believe very strongly: that farming is a liturgical act (at least it is when one is farming well – which, in my case, is less often than ought to be the case). And, like any good liturgy, it is a liturgical act the significance and meaning of which only slowly reveals itself. I don’t even understand most of what I am saying and what gestures I am making before God when I am participating in this liturgy of field and forest. There is this much, though, that I am sure of – I can feel it in the work: Good farming affirms the goodness of God, it  of all creatures great and small, it affirms the goodness of man, and of the human body, and of what Tolstoy affectionately called “the brotherhood of all men” and of what Wendell Berry calls “the community of creation”. And it does more than affirm: without even intending to, you very often find that you are engaged in an act of gratitude. I am not talking about the feeling of gratitude. You find that the work of farming just is gratitude."

~ David J. Clark

More at

 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/fareforward/2014/02/christian-commitment-symbolism-and-farming/

Artwork from Gwenda Morgan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwenda_Morgan

Like a Touchstone ~ Haruki Murakami

“We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past, like ancient stars that have burned out, are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about every day, too many new things we have to learn. New styles, new information, new technology, new terminology … But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.” 

~  Haruki Murakami

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami

Artwork from Michael Kirkman http://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/collections/michael-kirkman

Never the Same ~ Redeeming the Dirt

"When I rise early in the morning the waking dawn is just breathtaking. Doing the chores is satisfying as well as great exercise. Basically what I get to do is go around and make the animals happy. Give them feed, fill their water, move their shelters, etc., and when they are happy, my job is done. My daily work on the farm is never the same and changes with the seasons. There are somewhat hard jobs, like processing chickens, setting out thousands of transplants, or working in the heat of the summer. But they don’t last forever and I can finish and move on to something else. There is always something to look forward to. Looking forward to planting the first seeds in spring. Looking forward to harvesting the first crops of summer. Looking forward to the cooler weather of fall. Looking forward to the rest and projects of winter. And the majority of the time I am at home and get to eat every meal with my family, as well as work with them. Almost every day I find myself falling more in love with farming."

~ "Redeeming the Dirt"

More at http://www.redeemingthedirt.com/what-is-redeeming-the-dirt/

Artwork from Winslow Homer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winslow_Homer