I'll make you a great nation and bless you.
I'll make you famous; you'll be a blessing.
I'll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I'll curse.
All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you."
Genesis 12:2 biblegateway.com
Chatter at my parents’ maple desk where they took care of the farm and tax bookkeeping in the 1980s, centered around money, operating loans, debt, and feed, vet and seed bills. They were discreet; I was nosy. But my parents were honest, too.
I knew their concern as they learned about friends and acquaintances losing their farms. Newscasts bleeted about banks closing to a wave of bad debt-to-asset ratios. But I didn’t miss a meal.
I remember Dad looking out the south window of our story-and-a-half farmhouse, and saying aloud, “The Lord will provide.”
To this day, my mom insists that she and dad weren’t any better farm managers than anyone else. She credit’s God’s grace in this area, and they never lost their farm. That in absolutely no way says their friends and neighbors who did were loved less, or out of favor with Him.
I love the grace of God. I love that He provides. For myself, for my siblings and for my parents, I am grateful. I love Him. I would love Him regardless the outcome of the farm crisis for my family of origin. Now, I wonder how He can use me, farmers today, and you to provide for the hungry.
Growing up on a farm instilled in me a great respect for life, and for those who raise livestock, and grow feed for our animals, and food for our tables. So, the connection, for me, between people dying of hunger and the farmers I respect is pretty obvious.
In America, each U.S. farmer produces food and fiber for 155 people here and abroad, according to American Farm Bureau Federation. That deserves applause. Go ahead!
But today, we face a global food crisis. Check out the UN’s food security site for information detailing that at http://www.un-foodsecurity.org/. I’m not a big fan of the UN, but this information matches what I’m hearing in the ag industry.
But here’s the deal. We can help. In America, only 10 percent of our disposable income goes to purchase food, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. In Pakistan, it’s 50 percent. The Philippines, 38 percent; Jordan, 43 percent; and China, 32 percent. Face it; we’re blessed with higher incomes, and lower costs than so many other people.
Samaritan Purse’s gift catalog choices like providing dairy animals, livestock and stocking fish ponds provide not just one-time food relief, but also sustainable food sources. And the love of Christ.
I respect how Reformed Church World Service offers practical assistance, like food pantry donations and goats. I love the eternal difference made with the devotion to reaching people for Christ.
So you want to help? Getting that food to the people who are hungry presents a challenge. But many responsible ministries exist, serving Christ and reaching out to the hungry here in America and worldwide.
Won’t you do something today to help?
1. Go to this site:
2. Type in your donation amount
3. Under designation, choose Hunger/Food Pantries
4. Finish the form
5. Praise God! You’re blessed to be a blessing!
Or
2. Select what you want to give from categories like Farms and Livestock,
Ministry to Children and Meeting Crisis Needs
Ministry to Children and Meeting Crisis Needs
3. Click the Complete your donation button at the bottom of the page
4. Finish the process
5. Praise God! You’re blessed to be a blessing!
©2011 Helene Bergren. All rights reserved.
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