Thanksgiving on Thursday...

One day this week, just as we sat down for lunch
my farm girl daughter just 'happened' to glance
out the window to see cows running down the road!

With 700 heifers of various sizes and ages on this old farm,
that is never a good thing...

We all instantly jumped into boots,
and SOME of us threw on coats
before running out the door
into the winter day.

The Farmer jumped into his truck to go find the
hole the escapees found
while the rest of us headed out to herd cows home.

I saw that there was no way we would be able to reach those
cows before they ran out onto the highway...
so I did the only logical thing there was to do~
I lifted my hands to heaven and beseeched
the  Maker of those cows
to please turn them around before they hit
the highway.

I had visions of 6 car pile ups
and tangled bodies
of beasts and people,
and semis jack knifed in the snow-filled ditches
and law suits and on and on...

And then we stood,
we four ladies of the household
like silent sentinels
waiting...
while the Jr. Farmer
put his feet into gear
and ran after cows.

And then, slowly, slowly, those
huge 'stampeding' beasts
turned and headed back towards the farm,
and to my amazement,
I saw they were being herded by a
truck who was coming down our road.

What a neighborly truck driver!
He just slowly kept herding those cows...
while we ladies stood
guarding our precious lawn from
all those dangerous cow hooves...

The funny thing is:
I do not even like cows!
(for many, many reasons!)
I do not make a good farmer.
I don't like manure .
I don't like the smells of farm life
(well, I'll take new mown hay...).
I don't like the dirt.
I don't like the inability to
have a schedule the 7 months of
seedtime and harvest.
(altho I am growing up and becoming
practical and supportive, praise God!)

(I think that God has a sense of humor...
and that sometimes I just need to have to
chase cows to keep me from getting
too selfish and set in my likes/dislikes...
and to remind me of who I am and
what I committed to:
a woman deeply in love with a
Farmer...)

Today, I am thankful to serve a God
who protects and provides...
who makes people glance out windows
at opportune times...
and who sends truck drivers along
at just the right moment...
I serve a God who gave us
calm Farmers to chase cows on slippery  ice
and directing them to run on grass
so they wouldn't break their legs...
We lost no animals that day,
not even the one who got herself
stuck in a ditch of snow...

I am thankful for the opportunities
and the health and strength needed
to bless my Farmer in
whatever ways he needs me to...
whether it is providing him with nutritious meals,
making sure his home is peaceful, tidy and orderly,
running errands for him,
or chasing cows!

 And I am deeply grateful for the gift
of Jesus...
who has freed me from my  old nature,
and given me the power and freedom
to live His life,
learning to bless my husband,
because I was made for him...
living for the good of others
and letting go of my petty selfishness...
and learning to see humor
in chasing cows.

Yes, indeed. I am wholeheartedly
committed to learning to live and love
Jesus' way...
and if it means I have to chase cows
sometimes,
in order to grow me into someone like Him,
then by all means,
let me chase cows cheerfully
and see God in it!

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise;
be thankful unto Him
and bless His name..."

(Psalm 100:4)

PS
Just to be clear...
I love country living...
I love farm life.
I love it that my children to live out their childhood
with wide open spaces
and wooded trails to explore...
I love it that that I get to sit
down to three meals a day with
the whole family most days...
I love hauling wood,
and gardening with my children...
I love summer evenings on the front porch...
and tailgate suppers in the fields when
the Farmer is planting or cultivating...
I love so many things...
just not cows.
:-)