In 2015, I parked my car on the California coast. I lived in beautiful Pacific Grove, CA and spent almost every day at the ocean. I’ll forever be grateful for the time spent walking the coast and getting to know the ocean. This particular day, I was seeking an answer – which I received. There was a beautiful promise over my life regarding my future heritage, but I had made a few mistakes and worried it was compromised. The answer I received was that it was still there, because God had spoken it. Because God had spoken it, I could rest assured that it would happen regardless of my mistakes because of his mercy. My heritage was still there because it was appointed to me. There would be a way for it to be reclaimed even if that meant walking the incredibly hard road required.
The word ‘heritage’ has become my word for 2023. Sometimes I like to assign a word to focus on for the year, but the past couple years have been along the lines of “holy-cow-we-have-no-control-over-anything-and-just-have-to-trust-this-crazy-process”. But this year, I keep coming back to ‘heritage’. As I deeply considered the subject in aspects of traditional farming and breeding, its application began to expand into other areas of my life. I’m excited about the implications for me, and I’m excited about them for you, too.
WHAT IS A HERITAGE? We often use the word “heritage” to describe someone’s ancestry or the culture they came from. It is used to describe history, but it’s actually a forward-focused word. Your heritage is your inheritance aka your future.
Have you ever considered your heritage? What is it that you stand to inherit? What lies ahead of you? Are you excited about it?
It is so much more than financial increase. Health, children, abundance, prosperity, protection, joy, peace, etc. the list goes on and on of the wonderful things that there are to look forward to in a godly heritage. There is already a heritage for those who are the servants of the Lord: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 54:17 So, if you are serving the Lord:
1. No weapon forged against you will prosper
2. Every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn
3. Your righteousness is of the Lord
God already gave this to his servants- are you aware of those gifts? Are you confidently using them? God plans and appoints a heritage to each of us – some of it can be received now, some is for the future, and some of it is meant for after we pass from this earth. I believe this is why the prosperity gospel resonates so strongly with people- we want to believe there are beautiful, good things coming to us- we reap what we sow! We aren’t necessarily promised cattle on a thousand hills during this lifetime, but we are assured that everything we endure in faith will build our heritage, if we let God have his full work in us. We build our heritage by proving the promises of God.
The scripture is replete with promises – if we do something, God will reward it in a specific way. I can’t imagine how rich our heritage would be if we followed every command and had every promise in scripture fulfilled! I have started writing down a promise to consider each week and putting it on the refrigerator so I have a constant reminder. The promise for this week is: “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.” Jeremiah 7:23. That promise contains a heritage. God will be your God if you obey him, and it will be well unto you if you walk in the ways he has commanded. The scriptures are full of a beautiful heritage that we can decide to accept by obeying the conditions God has given us. The more you obey God’s commands, the richer heritage you’ll receive.
HOW DO YOU LOSE YOUR HERITAGE? Your heritage can grow and increase. It can also decrease.
If someone attempts to interrupt or steal someone else’s heritage, God says he will remove the heritage of the wicked and give it to the righteous. This means that the righteous will essentially receive a double heritage if they have to endure an attempted “heritage-plunder” by the wicked. I believe this is partially why we are told not to covet- YOU have amazing things appointed to you. They are to be claimed through gratitude, faith, endurance, and obedience, but can be lost through greed and theft.
WHAT TYPE OF HERITAGE DO WE WANT AT SUMMERSIDE FARMS?
In light of the animals, heritage breeding is future-focused. Commercial breeds do not have a bright future. They are losing vitality and instinct. They are losing conformation and stamina. They are losing their purpose.
Heritage breeds need protection so they can have a future, maintain their purpose and safely function in the roles they were created to operate in.
Ultimately, it comes down to what we value. Valuing money, success, short-term stability, etc will lead to a poor heritage because it is not sustainable. Valuing honesty, vitality, and good health will lead to richer heritages that won’t be exploited for short-term increase. If you truly value the breed, you will care about what happens to them when the profits decrease- what are they left with? Same goes for the earth- how much damage is being done to create more profit? The cost is high for misplaced values, but the heritage is immeasurable when faithfully inherited.
Everything we refuse to address, correct, or remove will be something our children have to deal with. I want to provide our children with a clear and promising opportunity to have the best life they can. This also applies to the generations of animals we have. When we take care of issues in one animal, it benefits their offspring for generations. I want our animals to have every opportunity to flourish in longevity and thrive in function. I want the heritage of our farm and family to be everything it can be.
I want to provide our clients and owners with valuable support and resources, and I want to continue to grow the community of independent free-thinkers who are intentionally building a lasting heritage.
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