Letter to my Children
I recently wrote this with my family in mind after a very disappointing maple season this year. Perhaps in these troubled times, some of you need encouragement as well. I hope you find help in God as we have.
-Dave Holscher
Dear loved ones,
I would like to encourage you in the midst of all the craziness all about us, and I thought I would use farming as the backdrop. There is something almost timeless about farming that brings perspective as well as life lessons. I have been able to trace our family tree as far back as the 1680’s. I am at least the seventh generation in Agriculture and am now passing on what I know to the eighth. Just from the time our family came to America in 1898 we have gone through Two World Wars, Spanish Influenza, and Covid, the Great Depression and all kinds of recessions, the oil embargo, two hurricanes (one of which flattened some of our greenhouses), three boiler room fires (the first of which killed our family’s pioneer to America Albert Holscher, the second of which came in winter so everything froze in all the greenhouses), crooked lawyers who stole some of our land and corrupt politicians who stole some of our dreams. There is more but you get the point. Probably every farmer or perhaps every person alive has a similar list.
The life lesson is our response to such adversity. King Solomon recorded a simple observation. He noticed, “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” (Proverbs 24: 10). How do we not faint? There’s a hint in the proceeding chapter. “Buy the truth, and sell it not: Yea wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” This “buying” reminds us of Jesus teaching of buying more oil. When in our adversity, God has sent us The Helper to keep us going. When we need more peace to replace anxiety- Ask the Holy Spirit. Buy some oil. When we need more money to stay out of debt - Ask in faith. When we need strength to face another day when the last few months of days haven’t been very rewarding- Ask and buy from the Holy Spirit. His only currency is “the fervent prayer of a righteous man” and that is anyone who has given his or her heart and soul to Jesus. When that condition is met, our prayer “availeth much.”
Later in Proverbs 24 it follows up on this theme, ”For a righteous man falleth seven times and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.” Perhaps this is where the phrase “you can’t keep a good man down” comes from. The context here is not that of falling into sin but “calamity” or “adversity”. A good man doesn’t quit, with God’s help he “riseth up again.”
If you work around me you will invariably hear me singing a little chorus that helps me get control of myself when everything is out of control.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust thee!
How I’ve proved Thee over and over!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
I will trust thee evermore.
The key to the song that chorus comes from is its third verse.
Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply TAKING
life, and rest and joy and peace.
Taking what you need from Jesus is the key. Self-effort isn’t going to get you through adversity- only Jesus through His Spirit can get us up again over and over and over again. That is why He said it is better for us if He go away so that the Comforter will come. “Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be made full.” For the righteous man falleth seven times, or seventy times seven and riseth up again. With God we are Overcomers!
In conclusion, I’d like to pass on a little statement that I saw hanging at my friend Bill Abram’s house. Knowing Bill and some of the adversities he has faced, it means a lot to me. I believe it well describes why the righteous keep getting up.
“I HAVE LEARNED TO KISS THE WAVE THAT THROWS ME AGAINST THE ROCK OF AGES.”
With love,
Papa