Thursday, April 25, 2024
We lived in SW Kansas for a while and ran a few cows on leased pastures. There were very few barb wire fences up there; mostly single strand electric fences that were barely hot due to the extremely dry soil and lack of grounding. My son Tyler was about 8 at the time. We were checking cattle one day and found a cow had jumped the “hot” wire fence and was grazing in someone’s milo fi eld. My plan was to just jump her back over to where she belonged. As we got close to the cow, she high tailed it and ran the wrong way. I headed her off and turned her back and she jumped the wire just like she was supposed to. As we rode back toward the trailer, I told Tyler “that cow didn’t have a chance with a couple of good cowboys like us”. He looked up at me from under his big brown hat and said, “Dad, I was praying too.”
In the cowboy world, you’re expected to be able to put a stray cow back where she belongs, rope and doctor a calf, cow, or bull by yourself, and break your own horses. Because we’re able to do things others can’t, it’s easy to become prideful. Why else do we take a quick look at the highway to see if anyone is passing by before roping a yearling? Why else do I immediately look around to see who’s watching when I get bucked off my fresh horse in the morning? There’s even a song written about “Cowboy Pride”.
I was bragging to my son about what good hands we were and he was teaching me to depend on God even in the little things. Of course I’ve been teaching him all his life to trust in Jesus as his Savior, but why not teach him to trust God in all the little things we do every day? Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” I don’t know about you, but I need God’s help finding my way. I don’t want to raise my kids to be arrogant and prideful. I want them to see that God is with them and helping them to be the best they can be. We all need to realize that our strength comes from the Lord. When we learn to lean on God in the little everyday things, it’s a much shorter walk to His side when the big things in life come crashing down around us. You may think you’re a tough hand, but it takes a top hand to ride for Jesus. If you’ve been bucked off, quit worrying about who saw and get back in the saddle. If you’ve given up on church but you haven’t given up on God, come try Triple Cross Cowboy Church.
