Straight Rows?

Dear Family and Friends,

There once was a farmer who one day decided to teach his youngest son how to plow a field. The young man listened intently on how to run the tractor but was thinking of other things when the father explained how to plow straight rows.

The father watched his son do two or three laps of the field and then decided all was well and he could finish up some other work and left.

When the son had just completed his 15^th lap the dad appeared and motioned for the son to stop the tractor and get down and walk with him. The son obeyed. The father took his son to the first row and asked his son what he saw. The son indicated the row looked pretty straight except for a small curve in the center. They walked to the 5^th row and the dad again asked what the son saw. This time the curve in the middle was exaggerated.

The dad asked the son what he was looking at for a guide while he plowed. The son said he lined up the tractor wheels with the ruts from the previous round.

The father then took this opportunity to re-teach his son. The father pointed off into the distance and told his son to pick a stable object that never moved to focus his aim on and not to take his eyes off of it once he started his row. The father then told his son to start over and see if his rows could be straighter. The son obeyed.

A ward member spoke Sunday in Sacrament Meeting telling us this story. He was the young man in the story. Br. Rupp went on to point out the fact that sometimes we focus too much on the everyday things that surround us (like the tractor wheel and the ruts) and forget to look up and focus on the Savior and we get off course.

I have been plowing and re-plowing that crooked row in my mind for days now. I am grateful for Br. Rupp’s visual reminder to focus on my dear Savior as I start out each day.

Hopefully, when I kneel down and talk over my day with my Heavenly Father at night I can catch the little mistakes I’ve made during the day and correct them so tomorrow won’t be affected. Thanks Br. Rupp!

Love you all,

MOM