Peculiarities of a Farm Boy

Folks, I'm going absolutely insane. There is sunshine, grass is turning green, the temperature has been over 70 degrees for a couple days and I'm about to lose it. Not because I hate this weather, I absolutely freaking love it. It's the fact that I'm a responsible student and worker (not trying to brag), showing up to classes, club meetings and my internship, all of which are indoors. The best hours of the day for working outside, getting dirty, and doing something, anything physical are flying by like a fox with its tail on fire.

This isn't anything new to me. Every year around this time and at the beginning of the fall semester when I'm stuck indoors, I want to be outside doing a physical activity. I understand that a large number of people think they get this as well, but they don't think about putting some red landscaping brick in front of random houses that would improve the aesthetics. Or how that backyard is large enough to put a garden in and what vegetables I'd plant in it. That lawn looks like crap, I could mow it better if I was blindfolded and high on peyote (note: I do not partake in drugs other than caffeine and alcohol, which are, as Homer Simpson would say "the cause of and solution to all life's problems). If I drove out into the country right now I'd stare at the fields to see if they are ready for spring planting.

This wasn't something I'd do four years ago. I wanted to get the hell away from farming and not look back. If I never had to walk beans, haul/harvest grain, set or remove fence posts, or deep-till a field again I'd be happy. That isn't true anymore. I've realized that the further I get from being outdoors and doing actual work, I go a bit nutty. By actual work I mean putting in a physical and mental effort in a job that requires commonsense, something the average American unfortunately is missing. Also a connection to the land that I haven't understood until recently in my college career. I've seen it in my grandpa and dad so much that I understand that those men will either be physically forced to retire or die doing what they love. I may have some of that stubbornness in me as well.

Don't get me wrong, I love writing. I've put a lot of effort into this and don't intend to drop it like a bad habit I picked up in college. I'm going to continue writing while I'm in the military and will hopefully find a job after my service where I can do everything that I love. I know it's not likely, but I read recently that the addiction to hope-dope never ends.

I think that the military will give me a good period of time where I will be able to judge whether I'm infatuated with picking up on part of our farm operation or truly need to do it. It will also give me plenty of outdoor and physical activity that I'll be able to gripe about it again to no one in particular, as well as experience in managing a large group of people, finances, and supplies. I'm beyond excited for that opportunity and ready to get through basic training then officer candidate school. I've decided if I can hack it, I'm going to attack the first opportunity to go to Airborne and Ranger school with the zeal of a Chicago Cubs fan and a new season (that damn hope-dope is wicked). I think I'm crazy and stubborn enough (both qualities of an Iowa farm boy) to make it.

Spring Break Service

So the last time I wrote about how I would be working in Chauvin, Louisiana for spring break. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my college career for the simple reason of camaraderie. Eight other members of Lutheran Student Fellowship (three Beta Sigma Psi's in there) and myself spent the week serving others as our talents and strengths allowed us to, but we enjoyed each others company while doing it and built stronger friendships than we had before. We spent a lot of time building planter boxes for the elderly of that community. We used a design that our own Dusty Gutzmann created; it worked out amazingly as we put two full grown men inside the box and it didn't budge.We also spent some time on a restoration project out near the Gulf of Mexico where we planted trees/shrubbery to desalinize the land that had been built up to create a buffer island against hurricanes.

We also used our free time to enjoy the beautiful weather and explore the bayou and make a trip to New Orleans. Cafe du Monde was a necessary stop for beignets and coffee. I tried to play a prank on my cousin Nick McVey by blowing the powdered sugar onto his tshirt, but unfortunately he saw it coming and blocked it. My Northface jacket was streaked with powdered sugar all night. On our walk through Bourbon Street we ran into several members of the Texas (no wonder they lost) and Kentucky basketball squads, including Jon Wall who said he was too busy to take a photo with us. Guarantee Craig Brackins or any Iowa State player would have said yes to that opportunity, but I digress.

We made it to the Lenten service at Grace Lutheran Church in Houma on Wednesday night and Pastor Rich had a great sermon, but we didn't overtly talk a lot about God while down there. I'm partially to blame for that, as I didn't put aside time for discussions and devotions, but I wanted the group to experience everything. And how much could I have said that would have affected them personally? These other students know God, have given their lives to Jesus, and probably were thankful for me not preaching to them for once. I felt that I got as much reflection and prayer done while working as we could have if we'd scheduled specific topics and devotion times. I hope the others felt this way as well. Maybe I overlooked their personalities and how they operate versus myself. I do feel I failed in that regard. At Pints and Prophets this evening (didn't consume any alcohol as I'm still abstaining during Lent), a few of the Beta Sigs who were on the trip voiced their same concern. Suppose I learned the hard way on this one...but I'll make sure I don't make that same mistake twice.

I've decided that with each addition to Running Through Cornfields I will include a verse from the Bible that I find interesting, inspiring, humbling, etc for the finale.

Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." We're not meant to be in solitude all the time, and God wants us to test ourselves against each other. Not in hatred and jealousy to make others look bad, but in brotherhood in order to improve ourselves.

Serving Through Leadership

Well this is the equivalent of spitting into the wind, but I figure I ought to try. As a graduating senior in journalism and public relations at ISU, I need to start writing online at some point. I really don't know how many people will be interested in reading the musings of a corn-fed Iowa farm boy, but who knows. Someone may find it useful or at least entertaining.
The title of my blog, Running Through Cornfields, is something that I feel we're all doing in one way or another. We may be trying to get to a certain goal, but we've got to get through hell to reach it. It'll probably have some kind of misery involved, be confusing, and we may even get lost a time or two. In the end it's the experience and how we treat others during said experience that defines us as people.
I'm looking forward to my training to be a second lieutenant in the United States Army. I want to serve God and my country by serving the men I'll be put in charge of. Jesus tells us that if you want to lead, you have to serve; those that want to be first, must put themselves last. Sounds like the job description of a military officer to me.
Hopefully I can live up to the title of an U.S. Army officer, but that's why I'm hitting the weights and pounding dirt (aka running) to get in shape and learning everything I can about being a good soldier. I'm not sure how many books I've read at this point on the subject, but you can't read enough on history and what other people have gone through, otherwise we're doomed to make the same mistakes.
Right now I'm preparing for a service trip to Louisiana with my church here in Ames. I've been put in charge of eight other college students and we'll be down in the Five Fingers area of the bayous southwest of New Orleans, while the other half of the group goes to Camp Restore in New Orleans. Houma is the largest city in that area, but we'll be in Chauvin working for Bayou Grace. I'm excited to get on the road Saturday morning because the road trip is half the fun; stopping in gas stations, eating Waffle House, and communicating over the radio about random topics with other vehicles in our group. Pray for us to have servants' hearts and the will to get whatever jobs placed in front of us done.