I finally got out of my “bubble”.
We had to travel to Ohio to pick up some seed. It was raining yet again. We had to have the seed so it was a “good” day to go.
“Good” day? Hard to use that word “good”.
It was a cloudy dreary day. The farther south we got the drearier and more depressing it became.
As we headed south we scanned the fields trying to see if the field we were driving by had been planted yet. Many had not. And, those that had been planted were hardly up and growing.
Then the standing water – worse than we have in our immediate area began.
Yesterday when I was merging hay there was a spot that I drove through a mud puddle. Our ground is wet but what we saw were bodies of water instead of puddles.
Mile after mile the land is under water. The corn that was planted is now drowning. The land that is untouched will stay that way much longer. It makes me wonder if it will be worked up at all this year.
As I watched farm after farm and saw farm houses and barns connected to the land I could imagine a farmer standing in the kitchen looking out the window or walking to the barn looking at the field behind the building with a sick feeling in their stomachs. Mentally calculating how many days there would be left to plant in order to get any kind of harvest. And, will it get done?
Some are tallying up their losses wishing they would have had insurance – one of the things they cut this spring because they were bleeding and needed that Band-Aid of one less payment.
The possibility of failing wraps it’s arms around the chest and makes it hard to breathe for some. The fear of “what will happen” robs sleep, sickens bodies, ravages emotions and wreaks havoc on marriages and families.
There are some farmers that are so worn out they just can’t function properly. Their mind is compromised and beaten down by trying to figure out a way to get seed in the ground that is too wet to walk on let alone a 10,000+ lb. piece of equipment necessary to do the job.
In that quiet desperation the anguish becomes too heavy to bear. The thought of being “done” with everything becomes inviting. The fight to continue has been fought and the only thing left is despair and hopelessness. The heaviness prevents rational thinking and that’s when the evil of suicide becomes a horrific action that can’t be reversed.
Please, please pray for farmers and ranchers.
Please go to their farm pages and personal pages and leave encouraging messages.
Please call them and tell them you are praying for them.
Please drop in and ask, “How are you doing?”
Please, please pay attention to them. Notice if they are becoming quiet or withdrawn. Ask them if you can help. Ask them if they need help. Offer to go for counseling with them. Call The Farmer’s Suicide number for help. Or go to this site for help https://farmcrisis.nfu.org/
Please if you are having hopeless feelings, call a friend and tell them.
We need you. This country needs you. You are part of a special tribe that can’t afford another loss. You are valuable. You cannot be replaced. Your family will not function without you. There is another way.
Following is information to call to get some help. Please, please make the effort to try one more thing – call:
800-FARM-AID – 800-327-6243 or National Suicide 800-273-TALK – 800 327-6243
