The 150,000-square-mile area, encompassing the Oklahoma and
Texas panhandles and neighboring sections of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico,
has little rainfall, light soil, and high winds (A potentially destructive
combination to say the least!).
Due to the high grain prices during World War I and advances
in agricultural mechanization, farmers began to plow up millions of acres of
unplowed grass. This rapid expansion
exploited the land in unforeseeable ways.
When drought struck from 1934 to 1937, the soil lacked the strong root
system of grass as an anchor, so the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil
and swirled it into dense dust clouds, called “black blizzards.” Recurrent dust
storms wreaked havoc, choking cattle and pasture lands, and driving 60 percent
of the population out of the region.
However, the 40% that fought to remain on their cheaply
purchased land were hopeful that things would change. Continuously holding out for a better crop
and a better life the following year, they were known as “next year
people”.
Nearly three months of this "new year" have come and gone and probably a few of
your “resolutions” and New Year commitments along with it. What commitments
have you made to the Lord this year? I
challenge you to not become “next year” people when it comes to pursuing the
Lord and His will and obeying Him. 