.....and sends his rain on the just and the unjust alike. Mathew 5: 45

Legend has it, Old Testament prophets could summon divine forces to vanquish their enemies.

Moses at the Red Sea, the Battle of Jericho, David vs. Goliath.

The message being the Almighty picks winners and losers. If you are righteous and God fearing, she can be counted on to intervene when you need her most.

Mathew's quote, from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount suggests otherwise. Life is not fair. Honesty, diligence, kindness, and altruistic intent do not ensure preferential access to health, happiness, success, or any other earthly reward.

One could be amoral, self centered and misinformed with corrupt motivations, while to all outside appearances, enjoy a charmed existence.

The spiritual challenge is seeing perfection in a world where the distribution of windfalls and hardships seems bewildering if not downright infuriating.

So it is that we are feeling a little survivor's guilt at Pinicon.

Growing conditions across the Midwest have not been ideal at all locations. Western Minnesota and much of the Dakota's are experiencing extreme drought.

Large parts of Missouri and Illinois have seen excessive rainfall causing catastrophic flooding and erosion.

Meanwhile, our little corner of the planet is having a Goldilocks season. Dry enough to get our work done on time, wet enough to keep crops lush, GDU accumulation a little ahead of normal but not so hot as to cause stress.

Everything could change in one afternoon as occurred last summer when a derecho ripped through central Iowa causing billions in crop and property damage.

However, at this time we have potential to grow our best crops ever.

And even though we'd like to think it's karma, the truth is we are just lucky.

Lucky that Great Grandfather Chrysandt decided to settle three miles north of the Meyer church in 1894, raise ten kids and pass on his love for the land.

Jim