On our drive to "town" which is about four miles from our house, our closest neighbor is about a mile and a half down the road in a beautiful valley. They have recently added cows. I slow down to a crawl in the valley because of deer, but now I also must be on the lookout for an escaped cow.
She is out nearly every day, just on the other side of the fence, eating grass that looks a whole lot like the grass on the inside. The grass this time of year is sparse and brown. The saying "the grass is always greener" certainly could apply except that there is NOTHING green.
In fact, the cattleman brings in hay everyday for the herd. He is usually there in the morning when I drive by. He has a flatbed truck filled with hay, and the cattle expect him and love for his truck to drive in. Everyday, that cattleman attempts to round up the stray cow and lead her back into the field. In the morning when he returns with more hay, she is out again eating the grass on the other side of the fence.
Well, she misses out on the blessing of hay daily because she is out. By the time he gets her back in, most of the hay is gone. How silly and stubborn of that cow. How maddening to the cattleman. How will she learn? What will change her mind and keep her where she needs to be, where she will be safer and better fed?---- a repaired fence. Her mind is incapable of learning it, so she simply needs the fence to be fixed. This will take time and resources for the cattleman, but in the long run it will be beneficial for him and for the herd.
Do you see yourself? I do. When left to my own devices, I would charge my way out of the fence everyday and enjoy the freedom of the grass right by the road. I need a good fence.
What is it? My faith is my fence. It is a secure barrier.
I also see myself as the cattleman. I get frustrated and easily miss the issue at hand. I need to mend the fence. My faith needs to be strong. I need to read and know what God has to say and to be hemmed in by it. I need to fix the fence. I need to examine the things in my life that are causing a weak spot in my fence. I need to pray for the Lord to show me the spots that my sinful self loves to jump through and charge out of. I need to let Him fix the weak spots. His word is true, and He is unchanging and unwavering. May my fence be unwavering as well. I will dodge much heartache with my fence of faith strong.
I am thankful for the things I see that I think are silly. They are all around. I am humbled daily just when I think I have things together--- just when I think I have found the best pasture on my own. Ha.
