I’m not getting better….I’m getting older
Posted: January 6, 2008
Category: Pastor Steve's Blog
TAGS: cattle, knee-cap
Ok,
So, I start out my trip to my parents with a speeding ticket. The fun part starts when we get to work cattle the next morning. Now, working my dad’s herd usually works pretty well. He has smaller numbers and they are very gentle. You start working herds that run on the range and belong to someone else, that gets a little dicey. We wanted to vaccinate my dad’s cows and my uncle had a small herd he needed to move and vaccinate. We get up early and go to get this group loaded. One cow we keep separate because she had a calf the night before and we thought we’d leave her until the end. The only problem was that she was getting more agitated as the rest were taken away. By the time we got back to load four calves and this mother and her calf, she was beside herself. She was shaking her head at me, pawing the dirt, and charging at the gate and fence. I’m standing on the other side thinking, “I’m not getting in there with her.”
Long story made short, we finally get her to the point where we’re trying to draw her into the trailer by having her charge down the lane and chute after us. But, she’d stop short of getting close enough for us to shut the proper gates and she would wander off. Finally, she wandered from her calf far enough that I snatched the calf and took it to the trailer. Unfortunately, the mother couldn’t figure out where her calf was crying and she just walked around lost. So, I started to walk back out of the trailer carrying the calf.
Now, mind you, that I was watching the cow (who wanted to hurt me) and trying to control this calf. Since I wasn’t looking at the ground I stepped on some fresh manure covering a rock. Nothing slicker than “stuff” on a rock. My right foot slid out and I could feel my toes hyper-extending. I let go of the calf and came down on my left knee on top of another rock. At that moment I thought I broke my knee-cap. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t grab the calf and I felt helpless. Fortunately, the cow didn’t come charging down the lane and I limped out.
The worst part at that moment wasn’t the pain…it was the fact that I lost the advantage we had by controlling the calf. By the grace of God the cow finally went into the trailer. We shut her in and I carried the calf into the back and set her in.
What did I learn? A couple of men can be stupid to keep trying things with a cow that is out of control. I learned that pain can debilitate you to the point you can’t deal with the more important things around you. Third, I realized I was more concerned about letting my dad down then any of the above items. The thing is, he wasn’t worried about that stuff…he was concerned for me.
Aren’t we that way with God? We get tied up with the pain of the moment and lose sight of God’s care for us. He’s not only there…but He has the solutions and He has the power for our lives to deal with it. But we’re so debilitated by the pain and the disappointment…we don’t notice. It is so good to know that God doesn’t lose interest in us, or become discouraged. The God who sends His Son becomes even more involved. He picks us up. He carries us. He comforts us. He’s bigger than our pain and our problems.
Meanwhile…I’m not getting better…just older.
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