Chasing Cows

Saturday J and I were visiting my parents. I was going shopping with my sister-in-law and J was going to go back to my parents and do homework. Well we got a call from my dad that said 2 of the cows he has got out of the fence and now were in someone’s backyard. My parents were headed to Atlanta to pick up a guest speaker for their church, so my dad asked J to go get the truck and trailer and go help my uncle get the cows. So I go with my sister-in-law shopping and J goes to chase cows.

Well we were shopping for about 2-3 hours and when she dropped me off at my parents, J was still gone. So I call him only to find out they still can’t get the cows on the trailer. It’s so hot so I grab some drinks and head over there to see if I can help. Well, deliver water, I don’t chase cows that have the temper of a snake.

Long story short, J and my dad watched these cows for 7-8 hours. So let me clarify, these cows are bread to produce bucking bulls. They are not sweet dairy cows. They are mean. And they are brats. After the 7-8 hour watch they finally got hungry, and through a miracle from God we got them on the trailer.

Later that night I was thinking about the whole experience and a few things stuck out to me.

1. Before J got there, the police were called and they sprayed the cows with mace. So that got them real good and scared. This reminds me of times in our life when people hurt us. We get really scared. So instead of going to our Father, we shrink down and hide, or we get angry and start hurting other people. The cows did both – they messed up the homeowners air conditioner and then they just sat down, almost in protest.
2. The next thing that stands out, when my dad got there – they no longer trusted him. They know him. They know he brings them food, that he cares for them, and that he doesn’t spray them with mace. However, because of one traumatic and scary experience – he could no longer be trusted.
3. My dad and my husband sat out there until the cows were ready. The reality is, they wanted to be at home where they felt safe, and they only had to get on the trailer to go back to the place they know. We only had something good waiting for them on the other side of that scary trailer, but they let their earlier experience influence their decision to go.

How many times in our life does something bad happen to us and we no longer trust God? He didn’t cause the hurt or the fear, but because it happened – we don’t trust Him either. How many times do we hunker down in protest because we are really just afraid?

But what does our Father do? He waits. As long as it takes. Reminding us that He has always taken care of us, that He has always provided, that He is good, and can be trusted. He reminds us of who He is and slowly but surely we decide to move so He can actually bring us to something good.

Finally, when we finally got the cows on the trailer – my dad and J were so happy. They were smiling and laughing and thanking Jesus they finally came. They weren’t angry and telling the cows “It’s about time you figured it out. That took way too long you idiots” NOPE.

They were happy. They were excited. “They came!! We did it! This is what we have been waiting for”

Friends, Jesus will wait as long as you need Him too. And when you finally come, He will be so excited to welcome you home. But don’t wait too long. He didn’t cause your pain, but He would sure love to heal it.

xoxo

Katie