This week, I again relished one of the sweetest delights in life: watching your children stand tall and strong as they serve others and push through hard things to do what needs to be done.
On Sunday, when temperatures hovered in the mid-90s, the call came in that the hay was ready. You make hay while the sun shines, which means that’s when you buck it up onto the trailer, too. My two sons stood up to work.
My 20-year-old son was briefly home from university. He had plans, but put those aside to help his family get hay in the barn. As he tossed the bales in the blazing sun, I was grateful for his strength and willingness to work without complaint. The next morning he arose early to head back to take his finals.
A few nights later my youngest son and I unloaded the hay into the barn. As he had when working alongside his brother in the sun, he found the joy in the work. As he loaded the bales onto the hay elevator, I gave him a thumbs up from the loft where I stacked. He gave me a quick smile, returned my thumbs up, and got right back to work.
Meanwhile, my daughter was serving with other W.F. West rising seniors as a volunteer counselor at Camp Cispus. She was a mentor and wrangler for a bunch of fifth-graders, and was faithful to the task with a diligence and competence that, thankfully, she has inherited from her mother.
Another treat this week was seeing other families thrive. Our hay supply came from the Remund family, where three generations worked together to put up thousands of bales of hay. When we arrived at the field, Rene Remund was baling. As his son RJ supervised the hay operation that spanned much of the Boistfort Valley, Jake took over the baling duties from his grandpa.
It’s the old Lewis County spirit still vibrant and alive, and it’s heartening to see.
Faithful to a higher calling
I’ve been thinking a lot about this as I celebrate Fidelity Month. The grassroots group that created this new national observance notes, “We have duties to others, and that is where our true fulfillment as human beings is found: God, our spouses and families, our communities and country.
Former Twin Cities school counselor Jim Parker is on board.
“The emphasis on positive, faithful goodness is such a good thing to focus on in this cynical and sometimes bitter world,” he wrote when I invited people to share examples of fidelity in their lives.
He saw it in his 2-year-old grandson, who, as they played store, quickly retorted “coming right up!” when his grandpa ordered a hot dog, ketchup and mustard.
He sees it in a faithful group of men who have met early Wednesday mornings for 35 years to study the Bible and pray for each other, their families and kids in our schools. He also gave thanks for, “An amazing wife who is so patient, level headed, and quiet giver. The beauty of a long term relationship is such a big gratitude piece. I’m so blessed.”
He continued: “Adult kids that I love and respect as kind, giving, and professional people. In the spirit of true family fun, I still get teased for losing at cribbage or forgetting my water bottle for the tenth time. The humor has been the release valve in our family over the years.
“So much to be grateful for.”
Care to Join Me for Prayer in Your Community?
This year I want to observe the Fidelity Month national day of prayer and fasting on Tuesday, June 24.
I have an idea. It’s ambitious, maybe a little crazy. I want to cross the entire length of Lewis County that day, stopping in each community to pray, either solo or with anyone who wants to come by.
It's not a denominational thing or even a purely Christian thing. Anyone who wants to rededicate themselves to service under God is my brother and sister in this project. I'll bring my faith and you bring yours. (If you're not a person of faith, that's OK too — we can celebrate and rededicate ourselves together 10 days later on July 4!)
My current plan is to start the morning early in Chehalis, drive east to Packwood, work my way out west through Randle, Morton, Mossyrock and Onalaska, turn south to Toledo and Vader, then head to Winlock, Napavine and Pe Ell, and end the day in Centralia: A dozen stops over a dozen hours.
I'd love to have people join me in each community. I'll have more details next week in this column and in a new Facebook group I created called Lewis County WA Fidelity Month. Or email me at lewiscountyfidelity@gmail.com if you want to take part.
What could we pray for in your community? What needs, opportunities, blessings can we raise up to God together?
I’m excited to join with others who, like our Founding Fathers, “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence ... mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
That’s America, and I’m all in with fidelity and gratitude.
I’ll see you soon on the road.
Brian Mittge is a community enthusiast who has written for The Chronicle since 2000 as a reporter, editor and columnist. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
