A Word for Our Arbor Family
Stahman Farms currently has four generations living on its soil. That soil has supported our family since 1945. It’s good soil. However, we’ve learned we really have very little control over what that soil grows.
We plant the seed, we water and we weed, but the most important factor is the weather, and that is outside our control. In the end, all we can do is plant our seed, tend to it as best we can and pray to God for the harvest.
Our lives are like that. We think we’re in control, but we’re simply not. I think the most frustrated people I’ve met in my life, and I include myself in this category, are the ones who think they are, or need to be, in control. "If I just work a little harder, make a little more, get that next promotion or sale, etc., then I’ll be in control and everything will be good. My family will be safe. We’ll be secure." That’s a lie. God never meant for life to be that way. He didn’t mean for us to strive to control the outcomes of our efforts. He meant for us to partner with and trust in Him.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own work.”
This year, 2025, I’ve learned what it means to not be in control. At first, this was terrifying. But guess what? As the year went on, God proved time and time again that His outcomes are far better than any I could ever achieve or even imagine.
As we move forward in this wonderful, busy holiday season, be encouraged that God is in control. You’ll be glad that you did.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
We plant the seed, we water and we weed, but the most important factor is the weather, and that is outside our control. In the end, all we can do is plant our seed, tend to it as best we can and pray to God for the harvest.
Our lives are like that. We think we’re in control, but we’re simply not. I think the most frustrated people I’ve met in my life, and I include myself in this category, are the ones who think they are, or need to be, in control. "If I just work a little harder, make a little more, get that next promotion or sale, etc., then I’ll be in control and everything will be good. My family will be safe. We’ll be secure." That’s a lie. God never meant for life to be that way. He didn’t mean for us to strive to control the outcomes of our efforts. He meant for us to partner with and trust in Him.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own work.”
This year, 2025, I’ve learned what it means to not be in control. At first, this was terrifying. But guess what? As the year went on, God proved time and time again that His outcomes are far better than any I could ever achieve or even imagine.
As we move forward in this wonderful, busy holiday season, be encouraged that God is in control. You’ll be glad that you did.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”