mill lessons
When I was in 2nd grade, we lived down the street from the Old Mill with my grandparents. Occasionally, my Papaw would take me to the mill to purchase buckwheat pancake mix from Charlie, the mill’s proprietor. I’d wander around looking at bags of pancake mixes and listen to the men chat and catch up at the other side of the store.
I learned a few things on those visits(𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘵)-this particular early Saturday morning was a lesson on wheat.
You see, around the world, most grains are harvested and processed in a similar fashioned. They are cut from the earth, brought forth and separated by what is usable and what must be let go. After the wheat is cut, dried, and stalks removed, it’s placed onto large blankets. The blankets are used to toss the grain upward. Since the wheat kernel is more substantial solid, it drops to the feet of the harvester while the wind carries unusable chaff away.
Wheat is the first grain identified in the Bible(Gen. 30:14). It’s one of the items Moses told the Israelites that they would find in the promised land (Deut. 8:8). It was valued because of its high nutrition content.
Even though it has historically been seen as an important food source...(like most things in life) growing, threshing, winnowing, and grinding wheat required 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 effort.
In the grind of our lives, the things that we have placed value on-the things we’ve painstakingly grown and put substantial effort into? That is our wheat. May we ever choose wisely and grow the things that matter most.
