Last week I had to leave the farm for a week and we were waiting on one young cow that still needed to give birth. I really wanted her to have her calf before I left. With less than 12 hours remaining until I was to get on a plane, I noticed that she was finally in labor. Of course she had waited until sunset, so I would be monitoring her in the dark. As I went to check on her the first time, I found myself praying, under my breath; praying that God would protect our investments and that the calf would be born quickly, easily and safely.
That path is as narrow as it looks. It’s about 8-10 inches wide! It wasn’t made by a tractor or a four-wheeler, it was made by cows! Did you know cattle travel on paths? How in the world do those big girls manage to walk these small, narrow paths? I mean, our girls are some big girls! Yet, you can look at our pastures and in the most traveled places, you will find these skinny trails. This particular path above, leads from one pasture to another and crosses a creek. Sometimes, especially in the winter, the cows will travel this route twice a day. The pasture on the other side of the creek is used as a winter pasture and is full of rich, green grass. The grass is so full of nutrients that we can’t let the cattle stay in there for very long. So every day, they are led across the creek and allowed to stay and graze for 2 hours and then led back out. Summer months are different and they tend to go back and forth as their taste buds or their desire for a particular shade tree catches their fancy. But every time they go from place to place, they travel this route, and no matter the reason they are travelling, they will walk that single path. Why? They follow the leader. Others before them made the path. The path leads them where they want to go. They have learned to trust the path.
These days we are so determined to do our own thing and make our own way that we have ignored the benefits of the path that is already there. Many of us are only where we are today because of the path that was laid before us. My parents and grandparents lived a certain way and taught me values and beliefs and those things got me to where I am today. I had to walk the path to where I am, but they “blazed the trail.” I hope and pray that I am doing the same things for my kids. Even now, I hope that the life that my husband and I have lived has given our children a path to follow that will make their futures easier.
Sometimes, when the moms are traveling from one pasture to the other, we watch the babies. The calves have not yet learned the path and they run along side their mothers or even run ahead with their friends. The cows will call out to the calves, but the moms stay on the path. They know that at the other end of the path there is feed or green grass. The babies run off and get sidetracked and distracted. Often by the time the calves make it to the feed trough, it’s empty or maybe there just isn’t any room to squeeze in. Sometimes the calf leaving the path even affects its mother… when the calf isn’t in line with the rest and is off the path, a good mother will wait for her calf. This causes both the cow and calf to be late to feed and both miss out because of it.
The narrow path leads to food. The narrow trail leads to best possible place to get water from the pond. That narrow path leads to life. It certainly doesn’t look like the easiest way to get their either. It most certainly couldn’t be the fastest! Who wants to walk in a single file line to get there? Let’s all just run ahead, full tilt, without a care in the world! But the easy way, leads to destruction and that is the way that most will choose.
If you looked at that pasture, you would think that it would be so easy for the cattle to get from one side to the other across that wide open space. But out in the open spaces of the pasture, there could be holes that would cause the cattle to stumble and possibly be injured as they travel to their destination.
Today, choose the narrow way. Choose to walk behind those that have gone before you. Choose the path that doesn’t seem obvious and that everyone isn’t on. Maybe you have been following a crowd or making your own path; find a mentor or a trusted friend that can lead you along the path. Find the trail that was blazed with you in mind and stay on it. My prayer today is that you find yourself on the path that God has designed for you, in His perfect will!
I am also praying that we will blaze the trail for those that are coming behind us. We need to make sure that the path stays open and clear for them. Someone made the path for us. Let us not allow it to grow up and become hidden. May we keep the path worn and visible and show others the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord and He will direct your paths.”
We have been away from the farm a lot here lately and we are slowly trying to get back into a routine. We were in Starkville, MS recently for our friends-who-are-family’s big cattle sale. We took some time to be with them for a few days and attempt to help! We had a great time and yes, we sold some cattle; but we bought a few too, of course! We came away from the weekend with lots of leftovers, plenty of memories, a ton of laughs, and a few too many apples! Apples at a cattle sale? Yes! One thing that they do traditionally for this sale is to give away fresh-picked apples from West Virginia. Several different types are brought in and everyone goes away with apples. We just happened to have come home with a lot!
What do you do with more apples than you can eat? Well, I love to can and so naturally, I made plans to can apple pie filling! I had great plans in my mind until I stood at the sink to begin coring and peeling apples. What I had thought would be a big job turned into a monumental one! Fortunately, my daughter was home from college and had pity on her mother and helped me out. We cored, sliced, and peeled apples until we just couldn’t do anymore. (We had also eaten quite a few!) I got the pie filling ingredients cooking on the stove and added the apples to the mixture as she finished prepping. We had enough for several batches and it had the house smelling divine! After several turns in the canner, they all sealed and found themselves settled in the canning pantry. I was definitely a happy momma when we were done, except for my aching back and legs!
When I am canning, I always love thinking about God’s protection. I know that’s not what would come as a natural thought to anyone else!! When the jars are in the canner, they are experiencing extreme pressure and intense heat. The jars need the heat and pressure in order to seal the lid. The contents of the jar need the heat and pressure in order to kill bacteria and further cook the ingredients. The air comes out of the jars and the lid forms a seal that allows the jar to sit on the shelf and not need refrigeration. The contents of that jar are protected from the air, bacteria, and decay. Although canning recommendations tend to be a year or so, I know of one person who found jars that had been canned for 10+ years and opened them and found the contents to be just as if they were freshly preserved! ( Don’t freak out! They didn’t eat them!) The heat and pressure had done their job so well that the contents had withstood weather and the elements of time. Lots of times in life we find ourselves with the heat and/or pressure applied. It is uncomfortable and it usually isn’t any fun at all. But once the heat and pressure are applied the contents (that’s you and me) are preserved. Psalms 121 says, “The Lord is your keeper…The Lord will preserve you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The Lord will preserve your going out and coming in from this time forth…” We come out of the canner preserved and kept for the future and for our appointed purpose. We are protected from all that rages around us. We still go through things, but we are protected and preserved through them.
I have often thought of canning and God’s protection, but this time I thought about something else. You know, all of those apples and the mixture of water, sugar, and spices go into those jars a combination of ingredients and come out something different. What went in is changed into a wonderful new formula. I love apples and who doesn’t love cinnamon and sugar; but cooked and cooled after the heat and pressure have been applied gives you something delightful. The thick pie filling can be used for all sorts of things that raw apples and the slurry of other ingredients could never accomplish. Friend, aren’t we happy that we aren’t what we once were? We have hope that once we come out of the pressure cooker of life that we will be changed into something totally different than what went in. Job 23:10, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” I am reminding myself as I gaze at those beautiful jars of hard work and apples, that I too am going to come out of the canner not as the dust and rocks that went; but I am coming out as pure gold. Endure the heat and the pressures of life! We will find ourselves kept and preserved by the Master and changed into the delightful recipe He designed us to be.
Hiding them in the canning pantry so I don’t just eat them straight out of the jar!!
Great story showing us where there’s a will, there’s a way! We have to trust that God’s will for us…
He’s pretty smart!
I loved this analogy! And what a smart steer to learn to undo gates. Thank you for sharing this story.…
Thank you , Heather. What a beautiful and thoughtful devotion!
The commission. Our job! Thank you for your kind words.
