We had an old Farmall tractor that we used for years on the farm to do a lot of light work. My son, Joshua, ran it a fair bit and owned half of it. Over the last few years, we started to have a lot of problems with it. We liked the tractor, and so we tried to get it fixed. We took it to an experienced mechanic several times to get it fixed, and yes, he would get it running decent for a little while, but then it would quit again. It really gets frustrating having it quit in the middle of the day when we’re using it to put up crops.

So the decision was made by all of us that we should start looking for a different used tractor. In the past when we went tractor shopping, I would normally decide what model I wanted to buy. This time, I was thinking of a couple of different model numbers we should be looking for. To my surprise, Joshua told us he was interested in a 656 Farmall. That was not what I was expecting at all. I had absolutely no experience with that model tractor. So we talked it over, and it turns out Josh has a friend who has one, and he really likes it.

What model tractor do I pursue? I thought and prayed about it for several days and decided to go for the one he wanted. Joshua had already let me know he wanted to buy half interest in the next tractor we got. I know he would have gone along with any tractor I bought, but down in my heart, I wanted to please him. He works very hard on the farm, and I knew that whatever tractor we got, he would be running it a lot. I wanted to bless him. So I said to Joanne, “Not what I want, but what he wants.”

Then we started looking for 656 tractors for sale. To our surprise, we couldn’t find any in our area. I started looking in newspapers and on the computer for them. I wasn’t having too much success, although I did find a couple in Minnesota and a few down in Iowa. I told Joshua about it, and to my astonishment, he instantly grabbed a tractor magazine with a really nice-looking 656 in it for sale at a decent price in Iowa.

I didn’t want to run down to Iowa to look at a tractor. What happens if the tractor isn’t very good and I come home empty? It’s one thing to drive a few miles and look at a tractor and turn around and come home without it. I’ve done that a lot of times in the past. But to drive 224 miles and then turn around and come all the way back home is a lot.

Well, I wasn’t finding a tractor close by and I really wanted to please my son, so I called the owner of the tractor and asked him a lot of questions about it. From the answers he gave me, it sounded like a very good tractor. I also called on a couple of other tractors in the area down there in case this one fell through. Then, I called Eric – a friend of mine who does a lot of trucking – to see if he would be able to haul it home for me. Eric was more than willing to do it.

We got up early one morning and started the barn chores, and then I left with Eric while it was still dark. It turned out to be a bright, sunny day. We arrived at the tractor place shortly before noon. I checked the tractor over and ran it some. There were small issues with it, but when buying a tractor that old, I kind of expected that. I bought the tractor, and we headed home with it.

My whole family was anxiously waiting for us to get home to see if we had a tractor with us or not. They weren’t disappointed; they were all smiles when they saw it.

We went to work getting it fixed up and modifying it some so that it would work well on our farm. It has worked very well for us over the last several months. Having never run a 656, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice of a tractor it was. Matter of fact, it’s my favorite tractor to use for baling hay, and Joshua greatly enjoys unloading chopper boxes with it.

There’s a greater blessing in this than what I first realized: the joy of giving my son what he wanted and seeing him so happy with it. God is the same way; He loves to bless His children with good things. We need to seek Him and ask Him for the things we need, and let Him abundantly bless us with those things. Then, of course, we need to thank Him for those things. We’re all thankful for the 656, and Joshua has thanked me a number of times for it with a big smile on his face. What more could I ask for?

Joshua Heck with the 656 Farmall. Photo provided by Tom Heck.