We’ve had a good first couple of weeks in the farm stand. We’ve sold a few things, made some great strides in signage, and are enjoying the honor of sharing the gifts of this place with other people.
But this morning, I have to confess that my spirit is a bit churned up because yesterday we had two thefts – a dozen eggs and a beautiful glass pendant my friend Jen made for us to sell as support for the farm. The eggs – I imagine – someone might need. But when I discovered that the pendant was gone this morning, I felt a bit chipped around my heart.
I’m praying and resting this morning, imagining a tiny hand picking up that pendant because it was pretty – it IS so pretty – and just walking away without the adult nearby noticing. I’m seeing that little hand lay it by a breakfast plate as a gift for someone loved beyond the measure of words.
The eggs I see frying even now for 4 little mouths, a breakfast for 5 that is mighty to carry them through another hard day. A meal taken on the weekend when school breakfast is not an option.
I realize that someone might have just taken these things because they can. We don’t staff the Voting House – we can’t and run the farm and keep our jobs. So maybe someone just took advantage of our trusting natures. I’m not naive to believe that’s not possible.
Instead, for the good of my spirit, for the longevity of the farm stand, for the hope of humanity (in a small, farm-rich way), I am choosing to believe there was need, not malice or apathy. Those thefts do matter to us; they slow down our ability to finish the barn as a retreat space for one. But if I let them matter too much, then I allow the people who stole those things to do more damage than I’m willing to give to some eggs and a pendant, as beautiful as it was.
Just west of us on the way up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a group of potters sell all their wares through the honor system. I have always found such beauty in that store, the work itself and the trusting way it is shared. In fact, that’s where Philip bought our forgiveness goblets that we used for our toast at the wedding.
So today, I raise a coffee-filled goblet to our visitors, those who paid and those who didn’t, because I choose to live with the hope that our dreams can be trusted in the hands of others.
This week, we have started a God’s Whisper Farm newsletter where you can get updates on events here, know the latest news about what’s available for sale in the farm stand, and get exclusive photos of the farm and our menagerie. Emails will go out once a week, on Sundays, and we will never share your address or spam you. If you’re interested, please sign up below: