Next Year People

I’ve recently developed a fascination with the Dust Bowl and all of the events leading up to it. Just to give you a little history recap, the government was selling large chunks of land for cheap and promoted the Great Plains as a thriving Mecca of sorts.  This persuaded families from all walks of life and a variety of cultural backgrounds to uproot, leaving everything they know to head out West. 

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.