For The Children
Those who are striving to build the kind of family businesses and communities that we talk about here, must remember that this is a multigenerational vision. While I believe that most people can make it happen, we must remember that for many this is the first generation to think this way. As I look back, I realize that Leah and I would not be in the place we are now if it were not for the head start that my parents gave us. As I have stated before, my folks lived below their means and put all the money they ever earned into the farm. They did it so I could have the start that they didn't have. Joel Salatin tells a similar story about his start. For some folks, quitting the job in town won't be possible for some time. Some might never be able to. But the 2nd generation will have a head start and might never have to work away from home. This process will take time. All should work toward the goal of doing it one generation, but not feel defeated if it does not happen. When the land is paid for and the barns or shops are built, many of the stumbling blocks you faced are gone. Our children will be in a much better position to take our dreams to the next level. If you taught them well, they will do the same for their children.
posted by Scott M Terry @ 5:27 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
This is a great reminder. I was reading Rushdoony today and this reminded me of a little something he said:
"In Biblical faith, the family inherits from the past in order to grow firmly into the future. Man and wife become one flesh; they have in their marriage a common physical, sexual tie that makes them one flesh. Hence, Scripture declares, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and htey shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). Marriage calls for a move forward by the man and his wife; they break with the old families to create a new one. They remain tied to the old families in that both represent a cultural inheritance from two specific families. They remain tied further by a religious duty to honour their parents. The growth is real, and the dependence is real: the new clearly and plainly grows out of and realizes the potentiality of the old."
The Institutes of Biblical Law Vol. 1, Pg. 167. Rushdoony.
I think that could paralel quite nicely with what you're saying and it's something we need to think about as a family quite often. The Christian faith is a generational faith and we are not working merely on our family, but for a foundation that will conqueror the world in the future.
This "future faith" is forming and molding a family in a way that will produce large families founded on righteous principles and good economy. Christ will change the world, but this can only happen with multi-generational faithfulness. Without that, we're starting afresh with every new generation. If anything, that "progress" will head us backwards.
Well said Scott. I have been meaning to write on this exact same topic.
Very well said. This is a very important reminder to all of us "beginners". Thanks.
Hey Bryan.
As long as we are quoting great men.....
"The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble ; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief , that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope." - General Robert E. Lee
Very well said in your post Scott.When I stop and think about it, everything we do is for the future of my family. It's in everything a person does on the farm.That's why we never buy toys with engines that cost thousands. And with luck I'll be the last that ever had to have debt on this farm. It's long past but always in the memory. All I can say is a person is so free not being a slave to debt.I thank the Lord for giving me the wisdom to pay it down so fast and forever be free from it.
Tom
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