One of the most common generalizations about the Amish is that they’re all farmers. While it is true that these days the Amish also run other income-generating businesses, they remain tied to the land.
It wasn’t always that way. In the beginning, the Amish were educated people who lived in towns.
Four hundred years ago in Europe, the Amish separated themselves from mainstream society because of religious reasons. Denominations that came out of the Reformation era were a small minority with unpopular views. For instance, the Amish were pacifists in times of war and felt their sons were in danger of being called into military service. Because of their opposition to the established church, they were pushed out of certain areas. However, they were allowed to remain in others on one condition—if they were willing to farm empty land and make the soil yield once again.
The Amish accomplished this primarily by fertilizing and rotating crops to improve the soil. Over time they became the best farmers in Europe, and their success continued when they migrated to the original Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the soil was rich and the climate favorable.
At the same time, Amish theology of stewardship developed. They articulated that care of the earth was a duty to God to honor his gift of creation. Farming also was an expression of the Amish values of hard work and close families.
Now it’s hard to think of the Amish without also thinking of farms. But the circumstances that led them to become the renown farmers they are remind all of us that we live our lives within larger contexts that challenge and shape our faith. Can we follow their example and find the practical expressions of our most central values?
Olivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. She chases joy in Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is. Meek and Mild is book 2 in the Amish Turns of Time set, which began with Wonderful Lonesome and will conclude with Brightest and Best later this year.