Navigating the corn maze
“He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” *
Fall in Michigan…a big drop in temperatures… trees changing color… cider mills open for business…pumpkin patches and corn mazes… It’s a fun time of the year!
When our daughter invited Al and me to join the family on an outing at Maybury Farm in Northville we didn’t hesitate to say “Yes!” There was rain forecast for Saturday night, but sunshine during the day — perfect for a trip to the farm.
After traveling about 45 minutes from home to the countryside, we pulled up to a parking lot surrounded by a large playground, store, barn and animal pens. It felt good to be out in a rural setting again, reminding me a little of our former community of Springville.
Shanda, our daughter, had purchased tickets in advance for us to go through the corn maze at 1:30 p.m. There was plenty of time for our two young grandsons to play on the playground and have a picnic lunch before the tractor-drawn wagon departed for the maze.
When the call came to find seats on the wagon, we joined two other families on hard wooden benches. Our driver/ guide introduced himself as “Farmer Pete.” It was quite a bumpy ride over a dirt road leading through fields of an unusual looking type of green beans. I asked Farmer Pete about the beans.
“Soy beans,” he replied. “They do real well out here.”
While Maybury Farm is a local attraction for schoolchildren and families, the land is leased to several farmers who harvest soy beans and feed corn among other things. It’s considered a working farm as well as an educational farm. After a short ride, we reached the area where the maze had been cut through acres of tall corn stalks and climbed out of the wagon.
There were a couple of questions running through my mind. First, how big was this maze? And once inside how would we be able to find our way out? The corn stalks were only inches apart and about seven feet tall. It was impossible to see through or over it once inside the maze.
At the entrance was a map showing the outline of a large, intricate picture of the maze as seen from above, including things found on the farm, a farmer and the words “Maybury Farm” and “Thank you farmers.” Nate and Elliot studied the map and thought they could see a way to the exit point that was only a few yards from the entrance.
After looking at the map, another question came to mind: how was that immense maze constructed? Evidently a computerized design and GPS tracking system were used to guide a tractor with precision as it cut through the corn to form the design.
Our strategy was to let the two boys run ahead whenever there seemed to be a junction in the path. Shanda, Al and I stayed at the junction until Nate (11) and Elliot (9) found the right way.
Then we would move ahead. There were also several maps along the way that made things
easier.
With the boys doing most of the leg work, we made good time and reached the exit point in less than an hour, with little backtracking. Well, only afterwards did I find out the field was 12 acres. It felt like we walked about a mile, much less than I had expected at first sight of the maze.
On the tractor ride back to the barnyard, farmer Pete stopped and plucked off one of the bean stalks. Handing it to me, he said, “Here are some soy beans for you.” Jokingly, I told him I’d put them in my photo album. The beans actually ended up in our composting bin. They will be good to put back into the garden at a later date!
Cinnamon donuts and apple cider definitely helped re-energize us af
ter our walk through the cornfield. Ahhh…fall in Michigan! It was a great family day!
As seasons come and go in our lives, occasionally we find ourselves in situations that seem as complicated as that corn maze. It’s comforting to know with the Lord as our guide, we will find the way. He promises to lead us in paths of righteousness as we depend on Him. Our good Shepherd sees the big picture. We can’t go wrong when we’re following Him! *Psalm 23:3b