Last week on the farm our oldest son Caleb turned 20. He was hoping to be moved into his house by his birthday, but he has learned that sometimes things take a little longer than you expect. There have been many challenges with building his house. He has had to learn how to do almost everything as he goes (such as how to install a septic tank and chimney, how to build cupboards and lay flooring, etc.) redo some of his work, and learned a lot about perseverance and patience since he’s doing this without debt.

Caleb took his birthday off in order to work on his house. I thought it was really sweet that several of his siblings joined him to help him paint, polish, clean, and mow. When multiple people work together, much can be accomplished. It also makes the work a lot more fun. Those projects where we all work together are some of my favorite memories. Caleb has done most of the work himself, but everyone in the family has contributed in some way, and that is encouraging to witness.

We have all been laboring together and making a lot of progress on the weeds and the finishing of planting last week. I will still plant some seeds for the fall, but it feels good to be caught up again. While not perfect, here is a before and after picture of one of our five gardens. I hope this is an encouragement that even when things get really messy, many hands can make light work. Let’s bring back the power of working together.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Hellen Keller