While scrolling through Maxwell’s vast collection, I came across one book which seemed rather timely: Wisdom from Women in the Bible.
At the time I was working to finalize plans for this issue, the one where we put a special emphasis on women in dairy, and I couldn’t help but wonder which lessons Maxwell, an influential leadership expert, would glean from the women in the Bible.
Maxwell prefaces the book by mentioning the many influential women in his life. It was his late mother, Laura (to whom the book is dedicated) who talked to him from a very young age about the women in the Bible and what others can learn from their leadership abilities.
The book features the stories of nine women: Ruth, Sarah, Rahab, Hannah, Abigail, Miriam, Mary, Martha and the Samaritan Woman. Each woman’s story offers a few lessons in leadership everyone can learn from.
One of the lessons from Sarah, the wife of Abraham who waited 90 years to bear a child, is “Don’t complicate God’s promise with your solution.”
Dairymen and dairywomen are constant problem-solvers. A “perfect” day on the farm is rare to non-existent. With all of that troubleshooting, it can be second nature to want to rush to find a solution to any problem – without pausing to think that patience might actually be what is necessary, as waiting might actually be part of God’s greater plan.
Maxwell writes, “We always have an opinion about how God should do things. Usually, we want what we want now. And our reasons seem so good to us. But no matter how strong, clever, resourceful or strategic we are, we cannot out-think God, nor should we try to get ahead of him.”
If that next big step for your farm or life isn’t happening as fast as it should, consider that you are on God’s timeline and learn from Sarah to trust in God.
Miriam, Moses’ older sister, tells us “Don’t let comparison rob you of your joy.”
Working in a close-knit industry, it is easy to see when your neighbour buys a new tractor or builds a new barn. Test reports show who is achieving high production or excelling in other areas on the farm.
While benchmarking can be a very useful tool, it is good to keep in mind that is all that it is – a tool – and not to let jealousy seep in when viewing the situation on others’ farms.
“The bottom line is: When you long for the gifts, favour, position or opportunities of someone else, it distracts you from the gifts, favour, position and opportunities God has given you,” Maxwell writes.
As the season of Thanksgiving continues, be thankful for the many blessings that surround you and your farm, and don’t dwell on whether they are more or less than another’s.
One of the greatest lessons of all comes from Ruth. She was in a difficult circumstance when her husband, Mahlon, passed away. Although she was advised to return to her father’s house, Ruth followed her heart and traveled with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to her homeland instead. There the hand of God blessed her.
Maxwell writes, “When you make a God-honouring decision with the heart, God guides you with His hand.”
Take a lesson from Ruth and follow your heart as you lead your farm and other areas in your life. 
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Karen Lee
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
- Email Karen Lee
