PROVERBS 17:17 : " A friend shows his friendship at all times- it is for adversity that such a brother is born." (cjb)
First off, let me say I'm a big fan of garden tractors. They're very useful and I wouldn't have mine had it not been for a good friend of mine. I've got a Craftsman 18 Horse garden tractor (thanks, Elmer); it's great at cutting grass. I can mow down tall pasture grass in high gear in the warm weather. It does great for most of the year. It's even got great hauling capacity but only in good weather. If it's too wet, or icy the wheels just spin. So, it's got plenty of power, but it'll only work in certain conditions.
It's about 5 degrees outside and I had to move a lot of hay tonight. I hooked up the trailer to the garden tractor and proceeded to try to move the hay. We did get the job done, but I had to pull it out with my car (once) and there was much pulling/pushing/prodding/shoving to get it where we needed it to go. I was thinking: "Boy, I'd be done by now if I had a real farm tractor."
It got me thinking about Proverbs 17:17 (see above). There are far many more garden tractors on the market, and they're fine for most people; some of them are downright cheap, but they all have about the same level of usefulness. One very valuable thing (when you're trying to run a farm) is a REAL farm tractor. They are less common, and extremely expensive and valuable. You can do a lot more with them and they'll get you through any project in any weather condition. On a very basic level, I think a good friend should be like that: always ready to help and won't give up when conditions are bad. Fairweather friends are as common as lawnmowers; they'll give up when the going gets tough.
I just wanted to share this because I have had fairweather friends and I have had good true friends that see me through everything I need to do. No matter what kind of friend you are, there'll be somebody who needs you. Just like the power to cut grass doesn't come from the blade, and the power and the power to bale hay doesn't come from the PTO (power take off) on a large tractor, the power we need to live and to ultimately become good friends, comes from God within us. The blade and baler are what you see moving, but the power comes from up inside. We need to let God take whatever size engine we have and make it as powerful as He wants it to be to accomplish the good work He has in mind.
First off, let me say I'm a big fan of garden tractors. They're very useful and I wouldn't have mine had it not been for a good friend of mine. I've got a Craftsman 18 Horse garden tractor (thanks, Elmer); it's great at cutting grass. I can mow down tall pasture grass in high gear in the warm weather. It does great for most of the year. It's even got great hauling capacity but only in good weather. If it's too wet, or icy the wheels just spin. So, it's got plenty of power, but it'll only work in certain conditions.
It's about 5 degrees outside and I had to move a lot of hay tonight. I hooked up the trailer to the garden tractor and proceeded to try to move the hay. We did get the job done, but I had to pull it out with my car (once) and there was much pulling/pushing/prodding/shoving to get it where we needed it to go. I was thinking: "Boy, I'd be done by now if I had a real farm tractor."
It got me thinking about Proverbs 17:17 (see above). There are far many more garden tractors on the market, and they're fine for most people; some of them are downright cheap, but they all have about the same level of usefulness. One very valuable thing (when you're trying to run a farm) is a REAL farm tractor. They are less common, and extremely expensive and valuable. You can do a lot more with them and they'll get you through any project in any weather condition. On a very basic level, I think a good friend should be like that: always ready to help and won't give up when conditions are bad. Fairweather friends are as common as lawnmowers; they'll give up when the going gets tough.
I just wanted to share this because I have had fairweather friends and I have had good true friends that see me through everything I need to do. No matter what kind of friend you are, there'll be somebody who needs you. Just like the power to cut grass doesn't come from the blade, and the power and the power to bale hay doesn't come from the PTO (power take off) on a large tractor, the power we need to live and to ultimately become good friends, comes from God within us. The blade and baler are what you see moving, but the power comes from up inside. We need to let God take whatever size engine we have and make it as powerful as He wants it to be to accomplish the good work He has in mind.
