Husbandry isn’t a word we hear too much today. I caught it
on a TV show the other day and wondered when the last time was I’d heard it, or
read it. I had to scan the interwebs to make sure I got the exact definition
right. Animals and agriculture come to mind, but that’s just one part of it.
Animal Husbandry is raising livestock and/or breeding animals and
everything that comes with the care of animals.
The second part of it, the more general part is what
interested me, care of resources in the earth. If you own a vineyard you
practice husbandry by growing and harvesting the crop. It works for family
gardens and raising pitbulls too.
I’ve noticed that kids raised on farms and ranches grow up
quicker than those of us city folks. It’s not an accident. Responsibility grows
us up like nothing else. Being forced to finish chores before 6 a.m. on a farm
is a lot different than doing chores in a suburban bungalow. Animals die if you
forget to feed them and land grows wild if you neglect it. What happens if you
forget to make your bed or wash dishes? Just do them later, or wait till
tomorrow. The consequences of neglect are high on a farm.
The closest many of us will come to being responsible for
the land and resources is with our yards. Mowing, raking, pulling weeds and
planting spring flowers creates in us a sense of husbandry for our little patch
of earth. Sure Ok, the stakes are a bit lower but the husbandry idea is there. Land
ownership encourages care for land, but more than that it creates in us a sense
of stewardship for our resources. Stewardship leads to pride when we begin
something and watch it grow.
This is true for learned skills as well like learning a
foreign language or starting a business.
We don’t just watch it grow of course, we nurture and
protect and feed our gardens and lawns. We watch the weather for rain, wind and
snow. We prune out weeds and keep birds from eating the new growth. Often we
lose plants to heat or erosion. Some years the rain is too frequent, drowning
our young produce and turning it to mush. Our best efforts aren’t always
enough.
I’m probably stretching the meaning of the word “husbandry”
a bit by scaling it down. The tendency today is to scale everything up. Most
farms are corporate and highly efficient, tuned in to soil quality and water
level.
But it’s the meaning
of the word that interests me. Husbandry is essentially sowing and reaping; in
the literal sense as well as in a metaphorical one. It’s the process of
starting and finishing while growing in the process. Our projects grow through
our efforts and inputs, but our lives are also subject to the same pattern. Our
Heavenly Father plants us and gives us a job, the same is true for carrots or
sheep or cattle. Grow and multiply.
The principles of God’s Kingdom are found in planting and
harvesting. It’s the actual currency with use to thrive. The cyclical nature
ensures, it functions even when we are unaware of it. Care is rewarded, neglect
is punished.
I started raking leaves just yesterday. I won’t pretend I
love to rake leaves and bag them up all afternoon. It actually takes a few days
but I’ve got it down to a science. Rake and bag the first half, blow and mulch
the second half. As far as chores go I kind of enjoy it. It gives me a chance
to listen to a long form podcasts while working. I don’t get the chance too
often.
Being outdoors for more than a few hours forces me to notice
how much cleaner my yard is since I first moved in 12 years ago. The back fence
line was a jungle of neglected weeds and invasive grasses that the city had to
come out and cut back. It was so tall it started to interfere with the overhead
electric lines that cross my property. I didn’t attack it all at once. It took
years of cutting, pulling and digging roots to have a clean space.
I’ve added a few landscaped areas since, had 2 trees cut
down and replanted more grass seed than I care to think about. Much of it’s
been a failure. This soil requires a lot of water and I’m too cheap (and lazy)
to bother with it every year. But overall the place is an improvement.
Husbandry provides a sense of satisfaction that you can’t get any other way. I’ve
paid for others to work on my property, but it doesn’t feel the same.
The reason is simple, sowing and reaping. Our projects grow
as we do. You want to understand husbandry, get a garden or a lawn and grow
with it. Watch it change you. It's the way God intended.
“For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting
life.” (Galatians 6:8) NKJV
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