In my last post, I was walking away from 2021 to finally breathe again... Little did I realize that one short day after I posted, I would have the privilege to breathe alright.
Breathe while running around chasing steers!
On our little farm we now have three cows, a calf, and four steers along with the horses.
That evening, a kind stranger came to the house, rang the doorbell, and shared with me that our "cows" were out. I froze.
"Cows out? How can that be? They are in the pasture. Wait, cows are OUT!"
Sure enough, it was the four steers. They had found a way to get out of the fenced area they were in and were "having the time of their lives" running up and down our main road, in the subdivision by our home (which used to be cornfields and pastures of our farm when I was growing up), and near the lake. Wesley had just moved them there a week or so before to give them a new area to graze. Light was fading fast and it was when rush-hour traffic was beginning!
Wesley and his friend were already trying to wrangle them back up the road to the pasture. As Steve and I turned the corner from our road to the main road, I see Wesley chasing one of the steers, who I am affectionately calling Gus, up the road. Quickly, the steer made a sharp left turn and was running through the neighborhood across the street from our place and Wes made the sharp left right along with him. Gus went all around that neighborhood, taking off across people's back yards, and finally heading off toward the lake again.
I get it, Gus. Living in some fenced in area with barbed wire does not seem like the perfect way of life. There is so much freedom on the other side of that restricted boundary! Freedom to run and eat the grass that is on the other side of the fence. Freedom to roam wherever you would want!
But what Gus and his buddies failed to see was that the fence kept them safe. It kept them safe from a busy road, vehicles, other people - and even themselves. They were fed twice a day, water was always provided, and enough grass or hay to munch on throughout the day. They really had it made - even if they thought they did not.
Chasing Gus continued for quite a while. The stinker was running all around trying to find his three other cohorts who had busted him loose but did not keep him close enough. Or maybe Gus just decided to find his own path and then realized he was lost and was running in circles.
All along, Wesley, and the rest of our family and friends, were doing what we could to find all four of those steers and bring them back the right way home. The steers thought they were fine, but we knew what could harm them out beyond the pasture.
All four finally found each other right by the lake. I was the one who got to "steer sit" while Wesley and the others came up with the plan to guide them back to the pasture. All I knew to do at that moment was pray. Pray that they would not go away from me, that Wesley could come up with a solution, and that the Lord would guide them back home.
It was beginning to get dark and I was having a hard time seeing them when they began to move again. Wesley was in position to get behind them and push them, but he could only see so much in the darkness. We were all running around trying to make sure they were safe. As we were running up the road again, we hear Wesley say, "They're in! They're in!" I began running with the bucket of food to guide them to the other side of the fence. Steve was running telling everyone nearby to make sure the other gate was secured.
Later as we were talking about how the steers finally came back the right way, Wesley said it was so dark he could hardly see them, but then, at the last minute, they literally turned and went straight back to the area from where they had escaped. They were so exhausted that they were glad to finally be back where they belonged. I knew right then that the Lord had guided them back home.
As I "steer sat" that day, I could not help but think of how Gus and the rest of those steers are just like me.
I get irritated with the fenced-in area where the Lord has me and think that outside of those boundaries there is more life and freedom. I can quickly follow others, or what the latest news has just reported, and "escape" from the "pasture" where the Lord has placed me for that time. As I leave that safety, I begin to experience what happened to Gus. I run around frantically trying to find those "others" or the path I thought would be better, only to realize it is exhausting. If only I would just stay where the Lord puts me and realize He is taking care of me right there, I would not need to run. I actually have a lot of freedom in that pasture because it was where He placed me and He is always watching over me.
Before the steers had gotten out, the Lord had given me the word "devotion" upon which to meditate this year. Psalm 119 has been my go-to passage of Scripture and the verse that really spoke to me for this year is Psalm 119:37. I put it on our mantle above the fireplace where we all could see it every day:
Psalm 119:37 CSB
"Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways."
How fitting that, on one of the last days of 2021, the Lord had me running to chase those steers to teach me this concept in a real-life way. Every day I drive by that pasture and it takes me back to that experience. Every day the Lord's truth continues to sink in more deeply.
If I am not looking at the ways of the Lord, I am chasing worthless things. Those worthless things take away the freedom and safety that can only be found in the Lord. I must trust that the "pasture" where He has me for that time is the best place I can be. Running from it does not give me rest. It is exhausting. Only when I devote myself to spending time in His Word and staying close to His ways can I fully have life and be at peace where He has placed me. And if I do get out and begin looking at worthless things... He is chasing after me...encouraging me to come back to Him. When I call out to Him, He always finds me and "steers" me safely home.
How about you? Are you needing to be "steered" in the right way? Get lost in the Lord and His Word - not in this world. Stay content in the pasture where He has you and find life in HIS ways.
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