Provisions in Winter
Journal 2005 01 13
Provisions in winter.
Crops are not harvested in winter. There isn’t even the hope of harvest yet because the seed is not planted. The ground lies fallow, or “at rest”, bringing a future hope for harvest because of a rejuvenation of the land. Rejuvenation, by definition, implies a restoration to a more youthful, or juvenile, state. My body could use rejuvenation!
The Corps has not “harvested” enough meat to adequately feed the men. They notice that the Mandans have meat only about half the time. The Captains also note that any meat brought into camp by their hunters is shared equally among all lodges in the village.
The Captains understand the principal of “filling the larder” with meat to carry them through times when meat can’t be harvested. That is their goal. And a right one.
In the midst of the effort to survive winter while they prepare for the real work of their mission, the enemy sends a mouthpiece to speak evil against Corps of Discovery. A clerk from the Hudson’s Bay Company, George Bunch, is badmouthing the Americans to the Mandans. Attempting to dissuade the Indians of the Corps good intentions. The Mandans were not persuaded. They had seen friendship demonstrated on their behalf from Captains Lewis and Clark and the men under their command.
The Indians provided corn they had stored from harvest. Hunters provided meat as God provided game.
Human effort and Divine provision. Just what God ordered to make it through the dormancy of winter.
Provisions in winter.
Crops are not harvested in winter. There isn’t even the hope of harvest yet because the seed is not planted. The ground lies fallow, or “at rest”, bringing a future hope for harvest because of a rejuvenation of the land. Rejuvenation, by definition, implies a restoration to a more youthful, or juvenile, state. My body could use rejuvenation!
The Corps has not “harvested” enough meat to adequately feed the men. They notice that the Mandans have meat only about half the time. The Captains also note that any meat brought into camp by their hunters is shared equally among all lodges in the village.
The Captains understand the principal of “filling the larder” with meat to carry them through times when meat can’t be harvested. That is their goal. And a right one.
In the midst of the effort to survive winter while they prepare for the real work of their mission, the enemy sends a mouthpiece to speak evil against Corps of Discovery. A clerk from the Hudson’s Bay Company, George Bunch, is badmouthing the Americans to the Mandans. Attempting to dissuade the Indians of the Corps good intentions. The Mandans were not persuaded. They had seen friendship demonstrated on their behalf from Captains Lewis and Clark and the men under their command.
The Indians provided corn they had stored from harvest. Hunters provided meat as God provided game.
Human effort and Divine provision. Just what God ordered to make it through the dormancy of winter.
posted by @2007 Dick Cinkovich | 12:09 AM
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