Sweat, Soil, and Sacred Friendships
- Debra Flaming
- Nov 5
- 2 min read
Wednesday, November 5th –
Today was a day for the record books—our hardworking crew cut through 47 crates of dahlia tubers in one single day! That’s a new Flaming Acres record and such a satisfying milestone in our harvest journey. Now, I have 35 bins of tubers waiting to be sorted and processed over the next few days as we tally up our inventory—determining which tubers will be shared with others and which will be planted again for next year’s crop.
It’s a happy-sad sort of day. Spending a full month side by side—enduring the good, the bad, and the muddy—binds hearts and souls together in a way few things can. The dedication of our dear friends Steve and Cathy has been beyond anything Dion and I have ever experienced. Their faithfulness, laughter, and steady help through every step have turned this season of labor into something deeply meaningful.
As the chill settled in tonight, a bowl of warm chicken soup felt like the best reward after a long, hard day. The exhaustion is real—but so is the gratitude. Life on the farm is never easy, but when it’s shared with good friends, it becomes something sacred.
Faith Reflection
I’m reminded that God weaves the threads of friendship into our work for reasons deeper than we often see in the moment. The harvest may end, but the love and fellowship sown through shared effort will keep bearing fruit long after the fields fall quiet. What a beautiful picture of grace—how He multiplies joy when we serve side by side.
As we near the end of this year’s harvest, I’m grateful not only for full bins of dahlias but for the full hearts beside me. Here’s to rest, renewal, and the quiet peace that comes when we know the work we’ve done—together—was good.
Sincerely,
Debra Flaming
