10/16/2026
Thoughts From the Tractor Seat 🚜
Trust
There’s something about a quiet morning on the farm that gives a man time to think. Before the day gets busy, I find myself thanking the Lord for what we have and asking Him for the patience and wisdom to take care of it.
This morning, I got to thinking about how I was raised.
When somebody let you borrow something, you understood there was hard work behind it. They’d put in the hours, saved the money, and trusted you to take care of what belonged to them.
That trust meant something.
I’ve borrowed plenty over the years, and I always tried to return it cleaner and in better shape than before I touched it. Wash the dirt off. Fill the fuel back up. Take care of what needed tending. And if I damaged something, it was my responsibility to fix it or replace it.
That’s how I understood being a good neighbor. Treat another man’s belongings with the same care you’d want him to give yours.
Now, anybody who farms knows things break. Sometimes even careful people have a bad day. But a person’s character shows in what they do afterward.
You show up. You tell the truth. You keep your word and make things right.
It’s a sad day when folks you thought were raised with those same values leave you holding the loss. Harder still when you finally speak up, and somehow they become the victim for being asked to take responsibility.
Meanwhile, you’re the one looking at a machine that won’t run, work you can’t get done, and bills that keep coming.
Out here, a tractor is part of how a family makes its living. The ground needs working when the weather allows. Crops need tending when they’re ready. A promise to come by next week doesn’t get today’s work done.
Helping somebody by letting them use your equipment shouldn’t leave your family paying for the damage.
I believe the Lord calls us to forgive, and I ask Him to keep bitterness out of my heart. I also believe being sorry ought to move a person toward making things right. If you’ve hurt your neighbor, go to him. If you’ve damaged what he depends on, help put it back in working order.
That’s love with some work behind it.
I’m far from perfect. The Lord knows I’ve needed grace more times than I can count. But I still believe a man ought to be able to look somebody in the eye and stand behind his word.
So that’s my thought from this old tractor seat today: take care of what folks trust you with. Return it cleaner and better than when you touched it. And when you owe somebody an honest effort, don’t leave them waiting.
May the Lord bless the work of our hands—and help us do right by the hands that have helped us.
—𝓜𝓲𝓴𝓮
𝓐𝓚𝓜 𝓜𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓕𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓼
