A Hard Winter and a Heavy Load

Things have been hard lately. It’s been a brutal winter. We lost our one and only truck mid‑season to a failed transmission. Running a rescue leaves little room for saving big, so even though we had set aside money for winter expenses—propane, wood, plowing—the sudden need to buy a new farm truck wiped out our savings and then some.

And the hits didn’t stop there.

The “new” truck needed tires, engine work, and brakes. The extreme cold froze our pipes. We ran oil heaters for days to get things moving again, which sent our electric bill soaring. Then came an extra propane fill. What is normally a $1,500 annual cost nearly doubled.

When Prayers Feel Like They Hit the Ceiling

Needless to say, the prayers were flowing.

Every day we prayed for help, for change, for answers. We prayed out of exhaustion, frustration, and that bone‑deep weariness that comes from doing everything you can and still feeling like you’re falling behind.

And still, the hits kept coming.

I’m not going to lie—it’s hard to keep going with the rescue when it feels like we’re never doing enough, or when it seems like people just don’t care. That’s the part that stings the most: the lack of community.

Where Did Community Go?

I’m reminded of the opening scene of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, when the whole town gathers for a potluck and a barn raising. I wonder why we can’t have that anymore. Instead, we live in a world where selfish pursuits take center stage, and families and friends divide over opinions. Our days are filled with hate‑soaked headlines and fear‑driven stories masquerading as news.

Instead of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, it feels more like living in a world without George Bailey—where kindness is rare and self‑interest is the norm.

People say life moves too fast now to maintain the old ways, but I disagree. Anyone who has ever homesteaded or even cooked a meal from scratch knows how time‑consuming that life is. Previous generations worked tirelessly for their families and farms with far fewer conveniences, and yet they still found time to show up for their neighbors.

What Changed?

People changed.

The older generations passed on, and the newer ones didn’t continue the traditions that kept families close. We stopped getting to know our neighbors. We stopped attending church. Teens traded local jobs for online “get rich quick” schemes, not realizing the influencers selling them dreams were getting rich off other people’s misfortune.

I’m not pretending to be an influencer. Like many of you, I turn to social media to learn. And while it can be useful, it often leaves me frustrated—and honestly, disgusted. Where is the community?

Are We Living as Christ Intended?

And that brings me back to prayer.

When we keep our hands outstretched, hoping our prayers will be answered, are we really living as Christ intended?

Scripture makes it clear that prayer is powerful—but it’s not meant to stand alone. Faith is meant to move our feet, open our hands, and draw us toward one another.

Scripture to Anchor This Truth

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2

“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” — 1 John 3:18

“Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” — Proverbs 11:25

Helping others isn’t just a nice idea. It’s a spiritual principle woven throughout Scripture:

what we pour out, God pours back.  

Community isn’t built by accident—it’s built by people who choose to show up.

Conclusion

Maybe this is the moment for us to return to what we’ve forgotten—to slow down, look up, and notice the people around us again. Prayer opens our hearts, but community opens the doors. When we choose generosity over isolation, compassion over convenience, and presence over passivity, we step into the kind of faith Jesus taught. Scripture reminds us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17), not because God needs our effort, but because our effort reveals our heart. And in a world that feels increasingly divided, choosing to show up for one another might be the most powerful prayer we ever pray.

Running this rescue has taught me again and again that God moves through people—through neighbors who show up, through strangers who care, through small acts of kindness that ripple farther than we ever see. Perhaps the real miracle isn’t in the answer we’re waiting for, but in the people we become while we wait. Maybe the answer to our prayers isn’t somewhere out there, but in the moment we decide to be part of the solution, rebuilding the community one act of love at a time. Because when we lift each other up, God lifts us too.