Monday, December 18, 2017

That's My Dad!

As I've shared before, this has been a tough year on my family's farm.  But 2017 is going out on a bit of a higher note...

2017 marks 50 years since my Dad began farming on his own in a rented barn (which he later bought) on Route 22 in Beekmantown.  Even after that barn burned down in mid-July, we wanted to mark that milestone with my father.  And so, in October, we had a party--inviting family and friends to celebrate Dad's hard work and success.  My sister, Cori, created a beautiful and rather poignant video for the occasion:



That evening also brought the happy announcement from my brother, Todd, that he still sees his future on the family farm and plans to rebuild.  In anticipation of that big project, we asked God's blessing that night:

       O God,
       the author and giver of every gift,
       who, in your goodness, have made us in your image
       and gave us care over other living things,
       commanding us to till the earth and cultivate it,
       creating the animals and giving us food from them:
       grant, we pray, that this land,
       which has sustained this family for more than 50 years,
       may again bring forth your bounty.
       Continue to protect and sustain this farm and those work on it
       with the grace your blessing brings.
       May the work we plan to undertake in rebuilding here
       progress day-by-day to a successful completion
       for your glory and our own well-being.
       Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
       who lives and regions with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
       one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

       May God, the source of every good,
       bless X you and give success to your work,
       so that you may receive the joy of his gifts
       and praise his name now and for ever.  Amen.

And then we got the good news that dad was being honored by the New York State Farm Bureau with its Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award.  The whole family was there in Albany for the banquet on December 6.


If you want to hear some of the kind (and funny) things his colleagues had to say about him, you can get a taste of it here.

We're so proud of you, Dad!
  

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderfully well deserved tribute and a profound glimpse into the promise of the future! Congratulations Mr. Giroux...and family members one and all!

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