Life on the Farm

By Beth Thomas

If you look at the calendar on the back page, you’ll notice a few daily holidays dedicated to life on a farm. Have you ever visited or lived on a farm? I grew up on 77 acres of sprawling alfalfa fields, peach and cherry orchards, grape vineyards, raspberry patches, and greenhouses. We didn’t have animals on the farm where I grew up, but imagine waking up to the sound of a rooster crowing just as the sun peeks over the hills. You step outside and feel the cool morning breeze on your face. The smell of fresh hay and clean earth fills the air. Before most people have even started their day, a farm is already wide awake!

Life on a farm is full of activity. There are animals to feed, eggs to gather, and barns to clean. And let me tell you, mucking out a stall is no joke! Cows moo for their breakfast. Goats bleat with excitement when they see you coming with a bucket. Chickens cluck and scratch the ground looking for bugs and seeds. Every animal has a job, and so does every person on the farm.

Working with animals teaches you a lot. You learn how to be gentle and firm at the same time. You have to earn the animals’ trust, and they learn to depend on you. Whether it’s brushing a horse, milking a cow, or bottle-feeding a baby lamb, each task helps you become more patient, responsible, and kind.

And guess what? All that hard work comes with a bonus: being outside in God’s amazing creation. When you work on a farm, you spend most of your day in the fresh air and sunshine. Sunshine is more than just warm and cheerful—it actually helps your body produce vitamin D, which is important for strong bones and a healthy immune system. Breathing fresh air gives your brain more oxygen, helping you think more clearly and feel more alert. It even helps you sleep better at night!

You also get strong! Shoveling hay, lifting buckets, chasing runaway chickens—these are not jobs for lazybones! Farm work builds muscles, teaches teamwork, and keeps your body moving. It might be tiring, but it’s the kind of tired that feels really good. At the end of the day, you’ve done something real—something that matters.

But there’s more to it than chores and sunshine. On a farm you learn to slow down and notice things. You might see a mama duck leading her ducklings across a puddle or watch a butterfly land on a flower. You’ll notice the way a calf wobbles on its new legs, or how the sheep come running when they hear the sound of feed in a bucket. You start to see how everything on the farm depends on something else—animals need people, people need the land, and the land needs to be cared for.

The Bible reminds us in Proverbs 12:11, “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.” That means hard work, especially when it’s done with love and care, leads to blessings. When God created Adam and Eve, one of the first tasks He gave them was to tend and keep the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). He knew that meaningful work would be a blessing for them, and when you work on a farm, you see that truth come to life every day.

Some may think farms are old-fashioned or boring—but maybe that’s because they’ve never felt the joy of collecting warm eggs from a nest or planting seeds and watching them grow. They’ve never laughed as goats playfully bounce around the barnyard or felt the quiet peace that comes as the sun sets and all the animals settle in for the night. They’ve never smelled the fantastic scent of fresh-mown hay or heard the click-click-click of the sprinklers in the early morning. It’s a feeling that can’t be explained. 

So next time you’re outside, take a deep breath and thank God for fresh air, warm sunshine, and the chance to work with your hands. Whether you live on a farm, visit one, or even care for a pet at home, remember this: hard work, done with love, is one of God’s greatest blessings.