Winter in the south is upon us and you know what that means? 30 degrees today and 80 degrees tomorrow! For us on the farm, it means hay, fertilizer and rye grass! With the cooler days, the grass has stopped growing. Unfortunately for cattle farmers, cows eat grass! So, what do you do? You feed hay, plant rye grass, (which grows in the cold, or occasionally cold days; which in the south they call winter!) and you make sure it gets fertilized.
We go through a lot of hay and thank goodness that we have it! But hay can be expensive and cattle like to eat all day long. Those big gals will stand at that hay ring all day, as long as there is hay to eat. Hay alone won’t get them through the winter either. For the cattle to stay in good condition and maintain through the winter months, they need the added nutrition that rye grass provides.
We have several groups of cattle right now that are all in various stages with different nutritional needs.
The young heifers and bulls need all they can get to grow and develop since they have been weaned from their mothers. These kids will get to free range in the thick green grass and have hay and feed as well.
The cows with babies need all the food that they can get, plus some in order to produce enough milk to feed the calves and maintain their body condition. They will be led in to the green grass and left for a few hours every day. That process allows them to get the nutrients they need in smaller amounts and then hay and feed make up the difference.
And then there are the cows that haven’t calved yet. They need adequate nutrition to allow the developing calves to grow, but not too much protein which will cause the calf to grow too large and cause complications at delivery. They won’t be allowed in the green grass until after they have their babies. Until then, they will get by on hay and a small amount of feed.
So in preparation for wintertime, when the grass of spring and summer are not abundant, we have to make an extra effort to make sure that all of the cattle have what they need to get through the winter. We have it a little easier in the south, but winter is hard none the less. Where the cattle, all summer and spring, have been able to essentially feed and provide for themselves, now, they are totally dependent on us to provide for them.
Now, I know you are thinking. What does hay, fertilizer and rye grass have to with anything else other than just cattle farming?
Sometimes spiritually, we feel like we are living in winter. Spiritual winters are long and cold. Most often, God feels a million miles away. The blessings of the spring and summer seasons of your life have come and gone and you may be wondering if they will ever return. But God is faithful, even when we feel all alone and left out in the cold, He has provided for us. Most of the time, it is hard to see when you are in the middle of it, but looking back, you can see that even though it looked cold and dreary, there were patches of “green grass” and probably even a “few bales of hay” to get you through.
We as a family have been reflecting a great deal lately on the winter seasons in our life and all that God has done for us in the past. Christmas is such a special time for us to remember what He has brought us through.
In one of our worst winter seasons of life, financially, I thought we might not make it. We had a rental property that I thought just might cause us to go into foreclosure. We couldn’t keep up…. Two months behind on notes could only last so long and just when it was about to turn into 3 months behind, the bank said pay up or else.
Just when it seemed like winter had set in hard, and God wasn’t going to show up this time, He came through. He always comes through. We were able to cut some timber and the money caught us up just enough to get our head above the water. Don’t get me wrong, the dry season didn’t end that day. We didn’t leave that dreary winter season of life for quite a few more years. Winter lasted a little over 7 years, but we had a lifeline. We had a “little patch of green grass” and “a few hay bales” that sustained us and helped us to make it. It got us through the dry season. It wasn’t short and it wasn’t easy, but in the end, The Christmas House was the ending of winter and the spring and summer that followed were worth what we went through.
Those cows meandering out in the pasture full of dead grass, they’re waiting for the tractor to bring the hay and for us to open the gate that leads to the green, rye grass. I was just like them, constantly waiting on God to come and show up. Every month up until then, He had supplied just enough. Each little bit that came, was enough to get us over the hurdle to the next month, just like the little bit of hay and feed gets those cows through to the next day. But, then we found ourselves led into the “rye grass” and that got us through until the spring season of our lives.
Right now, it might look bleak. Whether it is financial, spiritual or a health related winter season that you are going through, don’t lose faith in the Father. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. In Matthew chapter 6, He tells us that He will take care of us and He will provide for us. There is no need to be anxious. If He can take care of the birds of the air, He can take care of you and I.
Don’t lose faith friend! Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning! I know it’s winter right now, but spring and summer will come. And in the meantime, take a look around you. I am for certain that God has given you provision in the hardness of winter. There are “patches of rye grass and hay bales” all around us that He has given us to get us through this time of our lives (Philippians 4:19). And when you find yourself in spring and summer again, don’t forget to look back and see and remember that the “hay, fertilizer, and rye grass” from Him are what got you through.
C.S. Lewis from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
