Charlie Anderson’s Prayer

By Dale


One of my favorite movies is Shenandoah. I first saw this civil war movie at age 8 when it came out in 1965, the centennial of the end of the civil war. It stars Jimmy Stewart as Charlie Anderson, a gruff Virginia farmer who desperately tries to keep his family out of the war. The movie opens as Charlie Anderson sits at the head of the dining room table surrounded by his 6 sons, 1 daughter, and 1 daughter-in-law. A place is set at the other end of the table for his wife who died in bearing his last son. Before the meal begins, Charlie offers grace:

“Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it, sowed it, and harvested. We cooked the harvest, it wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway Lord for this food we are about to eat. Amen.”

This is the essence of backyard farming. We till our gardens, we plant, and we reap. We raise our chickens and goats. We prepare our meals. We work dog bone hard for every crumb and morsel. We teach our children how to work. Big Macs and Whoppers just don’t cut it. But one thing we realize that Charlie Anderson missed is our reliance on Heavenly Father for the soil, air, rain, and sunshine which is the foundation of our existence.

I want to thank our more than 250 followers. I don’t know most of you but I wish I did. I appreciate your comments. I appreciate your questions. I have enjoyed looking at many of your blogs to see the exciting things you are doing with your backyard farms. Please stick with us and share with others this wonderful journey of backyard farming that we have all embarked on.

Another great line of Shenandoah is when a beaten Charlie Anderson ends his futile search for his 16 year old son who was mistaken as a soldier and captured. He asks his family:
 “If we don’t try, we don’t do, and if we don’t do, then why are we here on this earth?”

By Dale