Tov Me'od!

Ahhhh. Spinach and Romaine.

A couple of days ago I had a meeting with my co-pastor at his home near Lake Fork UCC. I was looking forward to it, because I always have a blast with Conrad and Marilyn. Dry humor for hours.

I also enjoy it because the church and their home is in the country near Atwood, IL. Atwood is so named because the town sprung up around the railroad which stopped in this really wooded place and the conductor would shout, "At the woods!"

The timber is old. The farms are old. It is right on the edge of Amish farm land, so there is some wonderful farming going on (there are a few farms that are not great--I'm thinking of an overcrowded pig farm near there).

For the most part, though, it is quiet and lush, and there is a sense of continuity, strength and abundance. The barns are in good shape, the houses are in good shape, and the land is in good shape.

There is an ethic among old farming communities that makes for fabulous churches. There is community and a connection to the land. There is a quiet generosity that I love too --a congregation member had provided "the pastors" with homemade pecan rolls.


Conrad and I talk almost as much about the land as we do the church business. He pastures cows on his land and it has been a good spring for calving.


After we had taken care of the business of the meeting, we went outside to look at the pasture land. We talked, as we leaned against our pick-up trucks, about pasture and the new bull, and whether he was going to have a good hay crop. We watched as a spring storm began to move in from the West.

I decided to head home and watch the storm move in while I was driving. It was a spiritual experience. The quiet of the country intensified--the soil turned black and the leaves were neon. I felt at home; All of this embodied my love for the land and my call to serve here in this area, where my family has roots.

By the time I hit the drive way, it was raining and I could hear the water running down the downspout and into the water barrel and I remembered God's description of creation in Genesis. God calls everything God created "tov me'od!" Not just good (meod), but "tov me'od" : very good!!