Today, Patty and I drove up to Trout Lake, Washington, where I lived with my family on our dairy from 1965 until 1976. I graduated from High School there in 1967 and would still be there if God had not called me to be a Pastor instead of a dairy farmer. We drove up to see my sister Laura and her husband Monte because today was her birthday. While there, we also stopped and visited with my youngest brother, Jeff, and his wife, Beki, who runs a Christian Camp in Trout Lake. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. One of the bonuses was that they had about a foot of snow, and it was snowing very hard when we left. It was beautiful.

As we drove through the Trout Lake area both up and back, I got to reminiscing about my high school years and early married years on the dairy. It is funny how physical visuals will push buttons in our memory and cause all kinds of memories to come rushing back into our minds. My years there in Trout Lake were terrific, with a great family life, a very small school (5 in my graduating class) but super experiences and an excellent education, a great church with lots of spiritual growth, and wonderful experiences and memories of life on the farm.

I was again reminded of what a blessed life I have had. All of the wonderful experiences I had in those formative years of my life were not chosen or arranged by me; they were just part of God’s plan. I didn’t earn or deserve them; God just decided that would be my life. I don’t know why, but that was my life. So much of what and who I am today in character resulted from those years in my life 50 years ago.

It would be incredibly arrogant to say or think, “Wow, look what I have done!” I should always say and think nothing but “Thank You, Lord, I love You!”