Four Years, Two Trees, and a Lifetime Apart

It was August, 1995. The weather was very hot that summer, in the 90’s if I remember correctly. We were learning how to cope with being new parents to our son Christopher. That meant lots of sleepless nights, bottle washing, diapers, and the other marks of a newborn. It was fun, exhausting, and challenging all at the same time. And in the midst of this, Ruth’s father was lying in a Bellingham hospital dying.
 
Dad had multiple strokes over the years. The last stroke was severe enough to require hospitalization, and we all knew that he would probably not live long. The last few years of his life were spent quietly feeding the cows on the farm or playing with the grandchildren. Dad was not a leader, but a follower. Despite his low profile life, we loved him and we knew God loved him. 
 
We received a call on the morning of September 5 that Dad had died. We made the trip to Bellingham for the funeral, and spent the next months learning how to cope without Dad.
 
Some time passed and during one visit, Mom told us an interesting story. There was an old apple tree in their back yard. It was a pathetic looking tree, really. It was all bent over and had obviously seen many harsh winters. What’s worse, it didn’t seem to bear any decent fruit. The apples from the tree tasted exceptionally bad. In fact, the only person who ate them at all was Dad. He ate the apples each year. When someone would suggest that maybe the tree should be cut down, he would not even consider it. The tree was there for Dad, and Dad was there for the tree.
 
Mom told us that the day after Dad died, an interesting thing happened to that apple tree – it split right down the middle. Through no outside influence, the tree split from top to bottom and died. The family cut the tree up and hauled it away. Apparently, God decided that its work was done, and that it was time for it to rest. It seemed like an extraordinary sign of love for a quiet, understated farmer.
 
Fast forward with me now to 1999. It was summer again (although hard to tell by the weather). I was standing next to our house, looking up at the apple tree just outside our bedroom window. For the sixth consecutive year in a row, I debated whether to cut the tree down. While not as pathetic looking as the apple tree in Mom and Dad’s back yard, our apple tree didn’t exactly look great either (maybe they all look this bad?). And unlike our parent’s tree, this one didn’t even bear any fruit. I had just never gotten around to cutting it down, but this year would be different.
 
Well, things happen and sometimes our best laid plans are never realized. It was like that with the tree. Our interruption was in the form of Stephanie. She came along two weeks before her due date, and while we were thrilled with her arrival, some things just didn’t get done. Like cutting down that apple tree.
 
On the day of her birth, Stephanie arrived in the world with all the usual baby fanfare. After visits by the relatives and after Ruth was somewhat settled at the hospital, it was evening and I headed home to get some rest. With Christopher tucked into bed and with my adrenaline finally slowing down, I fell into bed exhausted. It was just past midnight, which made it September 5. As my mind wandered over the events of the past few hours, I silently prayed a thank-you prayer for our new little gift. In the dark silence of the bedroom, I heard the whisper of leaves outside the window, and then a solitary thump broke the quiet night air. It was the sound of a single apple falling from the tree outside our bedroom. A single gift coming down to earth from up above.
 
You see, that year our apple tree did bear fruit. It had more apples than we could have ever imagined. But even if it didn’t have apples, I guess I just didn’t have the heart to cut it down anymore. I wondered if maybe, just maybe, Stephanie might like the apples from her tree. 
 

Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures.    Psalm 119: 89-90

Our next interview: Rep. SuAnn Olson

We are very excited to present to you our fourth legislator interview. Our purpose in doing legislator interviews is so that you can better get to know the legislators representing you, from both a personal and legislative perspective.* 

For our fourth interview, we decided to visit with Representative SuAnn Olson from District 8. This past session, held in early 2023, was her first year as a Representative. She served on the House Agricultural and Judiciary Committees. We know you'll enjoy learning more about her background, her experience in the legislature, and much more.

You can watch the interview here. 

Happy Independence Day!

On this day, 248 years ago, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, and 56 men would later sign that incredible document. Among them were farmers, lawyers, merchants, ministers, a printer, and a musician. Their ages ranged from 26 to 70 years old, and they were either born in America or halfway across the world in Ireland, Scotland, or England. One thing they all had in common was courage.

They were courageous enough to sign on to a document that would surely mean death if they were captured by the Royal Army. They had the courage to stand up for what is right, and to fight for the freedom that we love today. Millions of Americans have enjoyed the greatest country in the world because of the courageous actions of so many great American heroes, that all began with these men.

It’s important to remember that as we reflect on this holiday and think about what Patriotism means to each of us. It’s not simply a love for one’s country, but the courage to stand up for what is right in the face of imminent danger. The courage that was shown by those 56 men, 248 years ago.

Happy Independence Day!

Things that Last

It’s Tuesday, and I am sitting in a surgery staging area as I write this blog post. It’s one of those little ER-type spaces surrounded by a curtain, with plugs and hose connectors of all colors adorning the wall like some weird Christmas decorations, and a rather uncomfortable looking chair with levers that I imagine could turn you into a walking pretzel if used incorrectly.

I’m here because I took a member of our family for an outpatient procedure this morning; one that is typically characterized as relatively routine. I’m sure it’s going well, but I would argue that anytime you’re under anesthesia on an operating room table, I don’t think it qualifies as “routine”, at least not in my world. That said, I’ll admit that a big part of my perspective was shaped after we nearly lost Ruth during surgery a few years back.

I’ve been mulling all this over while bells chime and hospital staff peek in every 10 minutes to see if I really don’t want some Jello or Graham Crackers. Eventually something struck me, albeit a slightly melancholy thought. There is very little that lasts beyond us here on earth when we are taken up to glory to be with our Lord. As a result, if we can identify things that truly make lasting impacts during our lifetime and beyond, we should focus on them. So, what things might fall into that category?

The first thing that outlasts our time here on earth is clearly our family. They are the core around which all else during our life is built; the key element that guides and shapes who we are while alive. Lord willing, our children, grandchildren, and generations to come will be around for many years, and while they continue to expand our ever-growing list of descendants, the work we did on behalf of our family is never wasted. This is one important reason we are called North Dakota Family Alliance.

That is not to say we always see the fruits of investing in our family. It is easy to sometimes get discouraged and think that our time and effort are having no positive impact, but keep in mind that we can only see the short-term and external effects, not the impacts on them as eternal beings. We often hear that we are not called to be successful, but to be obedient. Investing in our family is something that lasts, whether or not we see it.

The second thing lasting beyond our time here is the relationships we have with those outside our family. We all have friends and others who know us and whose lives we touch. These interactions outlive us, and therefore, matter far beyond what we currently experience. As with our families, it is our values, hopes, and vision for the future that will inspire others long after we are gone.

A third thing that will last beyond our lifetime is what we’ve accomplished. Whether we help feed others through our farming, design homes, provide clean drinking water, pave roads, or help codify our values into law, these things will last. But only to a point. Eventually, these too will fade away, so the important thing is not what you accomplished, but how you accomplished it. It will be remembered if you were a person of vision who inspired people, or if you always looked for faults in others and dashed their dreams. It will be remembered whether you showed love toward others or animosity.

I’m sure there are other things that last beyond our time here on Earth, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind. However, did you notice a theme across all of them? Each one is about relationships. How we interact with others, be it our family, friends, or coworkers – that is what lasts.

So what is the takeaway? I encourage you to work hard and be happy, as you glorify God in your job and build things, balance the books, or stock shelves. When God provides material possessions, be thankful and accept them. Make art, improve your environment, contribute to the good of society around you, pass on your business to those who will make it prosper, tell stories and teach life lessons to your grandchildren, and do much more. These are good things. But remember that it is your interaction with the eternal beings you encounter every day that will ultimately be the most impactful legacy you can leave. So go make a difference in someone’s life today and build your legacy – build something that will last.

Election Day

by Jacob Thomsen

This past Tuesday I went to a local church to cast my votes in our North Dakota primary election. Many North Dakotans across the state, 119,452 in total, went to churches, local community centers, courthouses, and the like to cast their votes. It was interesting these past few months seeing the candidates campaign, and campaign hard. It was great to be able to meet many of the candidates on different occasions and see some of the differences they had.

One of the things I love so much about elections is that they push us to become educated on contemporary issues in the political sphere, and act on our convictions. We must be educated about who we vote for and what they believe so that we, as part of a constitutional republic, can vote for someone who will represent our beliefs the most.

For candidates, the primary election day is the culmination of many miles logged from visiting with potential constituents, putting up signs, advertising, and working hard to win votes. The day of the election is a long day of waiting, to find out late that night whether or not all your hard work has paid off. For the candidates who win, the work is far from over. There are still five more months until the general election.

Whether you were a candidate or a voter on Tuesday, the most important thing to remember about election day is that God is ultimately in control. Whether or not the people you wanted to win succeeded, whether you as a candidate won or did not, we rejoice in the fact that God is in control. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,” Romans 8:28.

Now, we prepare for the general election on November 5th. These next five months will probably be long, tense, and have plenty of annoying political ads and arguments. But remember that we are the children of a Father who loves us and cares about us more than anyone else ever could. He holds us in His hands and wants what is best for us, so remember to put your trust in Him.