Here I am, one in a billion of the amber wave people sing about. I spend my days basking in the sun, reaching ever closer to the spacious sky. Yesterday I got my first glimpse of some majestic purple mountains. Mostly we are silent, but when the breeze picks up we begin to whisper. I’ve heard others talk about a fruited plane. I don’t know what that is, but I can’t wait to see it.

My first memory is being down in the dirt, the lowest of the low. But I knew I could become something someday if I tried. I struggled to break free. It was hard at first; it felt like the weight of the world was on me. Part of me wanted to stay where I was, maybe even go deeper underground. But I knew in my heart that I needed to go up. I decided to do both, and I’m glad I did.

I’ll never forget the day I broke through and felt the sun for the first time! Since then it has been ever upward toward that sun. Every once in a while, I get pelted with rain, which is a little uncomfortable but a lifesaver for the parts I sent downward. I heard the farmer say most of us are going to become food, but others will become the life of the party, whatever that means. To be put on the earth to help others is such a blessing. I truly believe God has shed his grace on me.

The days grow short and my beard grows long. Here comes the reaper. I don’t fear it; it is the grim reality of my kind. I am on the threshold (get it? threshold/threshing floor; I’m told I have a rye sense of humor) of my destiny. Today I begin my journey to feed the world.

I’m off…