“God at The Crawford County Fair”

by Pastor Daniel

Hello Friends,

How are you doing? By the time you read this, July will be half over which means that Summer Vacation is dwindling down and school is just around the corner. I don’t know if I like how fast this Summer is moving….it feels like we should still be at the beginning of June. I still have so much to do: yard projects, home projects, cleaning, and more.

Do you think another month of Summer should be added to the calendar? If it is, what would you name it? It if is, that would make thirteen months, which means we would need to add another month to make the calendar year even. If it is, then I wonder if the current months would stay the same, decrease in days, or be switched to different seasons. Thinking about all this, I think it is best to keep the calendar as is and enjoy the Summer for what it is–no matter how fast or slow. So, what are you planning to do to enjoy the remaining days of Summer?

Maybe one thing you can do is attend this year’s Crawford County Fair!?! With the 85th Annual Crawford County Fair underway already, I thought why not share a “fair themed” message with you all. I came across the following devotional titled “God at the County Fair” written by Sheri Wohlfert. Her inspiration is what inspired this message.

As I look back over the past five Crawford County Fairs that I have been involved with, I can’t help but recognize all the places God has gently touched and abruptly thumped the hearts and lives of all the kids and families who are a part of the fair. Sometimes, He touches with the sweet happiness of victory. Sometimes, He touches with the sting of disappointment. The one thing that is certain though, He uses those kids and animals and projects to send a very precise message…if we look for it!

I have been told, that in order to get a livestock project ready for the fair, the work begins many months before they tie it up or put it in a pen on the fairgrounds. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of hours a 4-H member spends feeding, training, washing, and walking their animals! I’ve watched year after year as kids have walked into the show ring–a sacred area secluded from the hustle and bustle of the fair–leading an immaculately groomed steer that weighed 5 to 10 times what they did.

I’ve watched kids walk animals they were too short to see over but enter the show ring with a confidence and pride that is impressive and inspiring. I have seen kids who were too shy to talk to their own shoe-strings, learn to become confident and articulate because a judge was going to gently bombard them with questions that would greatly influence their standing in showmanship competition. I’ve watched kids carefully (and usually without much enthusiasm) prepare their project financial statements and records, designed to develop an awareness of real world basic economics.

On many occasions I have stood at the end of a barn to look down the center aisle and watch dozens and dozens of hot, sweaty, tired kids laughing as they work. Countless times, I have seen kids walk up to a judge and present a project. That project is a representation of time, talent, ability, and pride. In the end, it all comes down to the judgment of one set of eyes.

And by witnessing all of that and so much more, I realized that those kids weren’t alone. Of course they had their family, friends, and always cheering support group, but God was with them too. God was at the county fair!

The “good works God has prepared” are evident at the county fair. Not many of the 4-H members at the fair will go on to have a career in agriculture, but they will take the messages and lessons with them no matter what path God puts them on. God was at the fair teaching patience, trust, confidence, and compassion. He was there teaching the value and blessing of caring for another living being. He was there flooding kids with the Holy Spirit when they needed the right words or the confidence. He was there when tears fell or when handshakes were given. He was there when they needed the grace of strength and patience.

He was there to teach that people don’t always see “justice and judgment” the same way. He was there molding and forming the character of his children, showing them that the value of hard work, dedication, and responsibility doesn’t always come with a blue ribbon and a champion title; but if it is done in His honor, the prize is so much greater!

God was at the county fair. I hope people saw Him and felt His presence! I hope you see him at this year’s Crawford County Fair!

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!

Pastor Daniel