The Cow Whisperer--or Not

The phone rang at 2:30 a.m.  David, my husband, answered and after a brief conversation hurried out of bed and into his clothes.
"Who was that?"
"The sheriff.  Bubby's out," he answered.
"Oh, no..."

Earlier (6:30-a.m.-earlier) that same day the neighbor had pulled into our driveway in his red truck to let us know our cow was in his backyard.  After losing our dog, Pretty, to a car accident last week, I shuddered to think of 600-pound Bubby on the highway....(see http://www.getrealfarmlife.blogspot.com/).

I walked across the pasture toward the neighbors calling his name.  When he heard my voice, he picked his head up from the grass and looked at me, framed by evergreens.  It was precious.  He jumped in the air and ran down the fence line.  I ran alongside him, then walked him the rest of the way home.  After a lovely bite of flowers, he allowed David and I to herd him back through the gate.  "You're the Cow Whisperer," David commented in awe.  I was proud.  It had been so easy to call Bubby and walk him home.

There was no apparent hole in the fence. "Maybe Hoover is missing Pretty and decided to take Bubby out on his morning walk," our daughter, Laura, suggested.  Hoover, our other retriever, has been quite lonely lately.  What a perfect solution!

Now, this call at 2:30 a.m.  I won't go into all the gory details, but suffice it to say that the "Cow Whisperer" lost her title.  We searched.  We found.  We lassoed.  We lost.  We chased. We cajoled.  We pushed (thankfully he hasn't learned to kick yet--but there are some unpleasantries associated with pushing an uncooperative cow from behind).  At one point I had the lasso around my waist in an effort to anchor him.  When he took off running, the rope pulled taut around my middle and my foot tangled in the tail-end.  I hit the ground sliding.  Praise the Lord for a husband who threw himself on the rope and kept me from trailing through the soybean field behind a mad cow!

David cinched the lasso close and applied the "Lasso Rule:"  when you pull away or go the wrong direction, your wind pipe will suffer and there is pain; when you come near and go the right direction, there is relief.

What spiritual applications did I learn? 
-  Pride goes before a fall.  God is the One who allowed Bubby to come home so easily that first morning.  I regretted my pride and gloating "before the cock crowed" the next day.
- Sometimes in our Christian walk, we are quick to follow Jesus--we're so excited to see Him that we'll go anywhere just to walk by His side.  It should always be like that.
- There are times, however, when we choose to go our own way and wander outside the protection He's provided.  He then applies "life's lasso."  It chokes us when we turn away and relieves us as we stay close by His side.

You can read this and walk away.  I, unfortunately, am still limping a bit and nursing my bruised hip.  Praise God for real reminders of His loving care, His constant nature, and His patient work!