Last night we got a call from the meat locker that our 1/4-beef was processed and ready for pick-up. I’ve been so eager to get this beef, since I’ve been disappointed with the beef in the grocery store. Since our menu for tonight was chili, I decided to hurry and get that meat this morning in time to use some to make supper.

As usual, our morning slipped by, and it was noon before we were on the road heading to the small town south of here for the beef. We had to be back in town absolutely no later than 2 pm for Laura’s choir rehearsal, so the rush was on. Through the rain and stiff winds we sped along the highway. Half an hour later, we were in the small town of Atlanta, Illinois, and following the specific directions to find the locker. We pulled up in front of it at 12:40 pm, and I hurried inside to see if the children were allowed to come in to see the work area. The lady shrugged that it was fine, so I helped everyone unload from the van.

We all crowded into the small front office, and Isaac right away cornered the lady and asked if he could have one of the cow hides. She explained to him that there weren’t any he could have, and then she offered to show us the cutting area. She let us walk around the cutting tables, peer into the big bins holding the scraps and fat, and ask all the questions that were popping out of us. We must have been a good audience, because the lady then opened another door and showed us the huge pieces of cow hanging on hooks. We were all astonished at the size of the half-cows waiting to be processed. After we asked more questions, the lady then took us to the back room where on other days the cows are actually brought in alive and then shot, gutted and weighed. Several of the children were horrified at the idea of shooting the poor cows. I reminded them that the next time they have a hamburger, they need to remember what all goes into getting that meat.  Our neighbor girl who had come along with us declared emphatically, “Next time, I’m ordering chicken nuggets!”

After we returned to the main area, we must have inspired even more of a tour, because next thing I knew we were looking around the walk-in freezer where all the packages of meat are kept while waiting for pickup. That place was cold! Then, for good measure, we got to see the storage room, too. Even that room was interesting and provoked more questions from many of us.

Once we had seen all there was to see, we were standing in the front area again, and as if beckoned by a silent bell, the workers all returned to their stations and started cutting meat, stamping labels, wrapping meat, running the meat grinder and making hamburger patties. So now we got to watch the whole thing in operation.

Soon it was time to herd everyone back out to the van and go pick up our meat to take home. Even though we had spent longer at the meat locker than I had anticipated, we still made it to Laura’s choir rehearsal with 15 minutes to spare.

As we were driving back to Bloomington, I mused over the whole unplanned field trip, the low-key tour-guide lady, and the timing of it all. I realized, in hindsight, that we had arrived during lunch hour, which is why none of the workers were in the cutting area. That allowed us to walk all around and see everything up close. Once the workers started back up, we couldn’t walk through that area freely as we had before. I realized that even though I was running behind in my own schedule, God’s hand had guided us to arrive at the perfect time for our tour. I couldn’t have planned it a better way.

Oh, and by the way, the chili we ate for supper tonight was amazingly delicious.