The right time

Knowing that God’s timing is perfect is easy. Accepting God’s timing as perfect is a harder step. Many would think Mark’s bummed shoulder at springtime would be lousy timing, but this year, we are discovering it is perfect. It is creating the space needed for Austin to step up and for Mark to step aside in a new role on the farm. We may not be milking, but we are still farming. We’re not really retired, just reassigned duties.

Over the last month, Austin has been spending many long nights in the shop. He has been working to bring his “new” planter up to date with his vision of how he wants to plant the crops. He has also been spending time replacing the parts he “borrowed” from Mark’s planter last season.

As the planter prep work wraps up, Mark has turned his focus to having the tractors ready to roam the fields. Everything is getting cleaned and washed to start the season on a fresh foot. Air filters cleaned. Windows washed. All junk cleared out. Floors vacuumed. Not showroom detailed but well cared for.

There were a few jobs that Mark needed two hands to complete. His right hand works great. I am his left hand, not always a perfect partner.

Now, we have worked together for years. We make a good team in understanding what, where and how things need to be done. Both of us crammed into the tractor cab, working to replace the air filters behind the tractor seat, is a whole different realm.

Mark knew what he wanted done, but his brain isn’t directly connected to my hands. I have never possessed telepathy as an effective form of communication. He kept trying to explain how the cover tab should catch a latch at the bottom and click in place on the top. I’m hanging upside down over the seat trying to “see” what he’s talking about and manipulating my arms into the “right” position do what he’s explaining. I’m happy to say I didn’t lose my temper as his directions weren’t clicking for me. Instead, we found a different way to get the job done. I backed out, and he may have used his unavailable hand to complete the job. The final result was the cover clicking in place, and we’re still happily married.

The last job we tackled was tacking the roof headliner out of the way. The front edge of the liner had pulled away from the brace holding it in place. With some clever engineering, Mark created shims to hold the fabric close to the ceiling. As I tucked the fabric, Mark pushed the shim in place. Tada — a clear view out the front window.

In a final step to secure our repair, I suggested we use duct tape to hold the shims in place. With the vibrations in the tractor cab, I could envision them slipping out of place and the headliner blocking the driver’s view. Between our three hands, we were able to tape everything together and still have it looking pretty good as far as made-do repairs go.

It is a good thing we’re getting all the equipment ready to roll. I think we will end up planting a few extra acres this spring. Many of the hay fields are lacking new growth. It didn’t matter if we took a fourth crop cutting or not. We seemed to have been a bit too cold this winter and a bit too dry this spring to bring all of the fields back to life. The winter loss is spotty around our neighborhood. We lost some fields. The neighbors lost a big field at the end of our driveway. Luckily, they have enough feed on hand to get them through till fall. We’re all shifting our planting plans as we navigate forward.

Timing is everything to most farmers. There is a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to be silent and a time to speak. We all have “giants” in our lives. We are called to face the battles of today so we can be prepared to conquer the giants of tomorrow.

This fall season, Mark’s shoulder should be as good as new, so he can tackle a full fall harvest at our place as well as lend an extra hand to the neighbors. This spring may not be his time, but it all works out to be the right time in the long run.

As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark Schmitt are exploring new adventures on the farm outside of the milking barn at their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.