The Youth Minister was running late this morning. Oh, we had church as usual and the things
that prevented his arrival at the normal time were almost unbelievable. He lives outside of town and down a country
road in the Texas Hill Country. Anyone
that has traveled the country roads in Texas knows to expect something called
"cattle guards." If you are
driving normal speed and hit a cattle guard it can shake the fillings from your
teeth.
For our readers who do not live in cattle country. A cattle guard is placed in the road, where
it intersects a property line, providing access to drive through the country
without having to open gates. The actual
cattle guard is usually made of pipe, the width of the road, but the pipes are
spaced so the cattle cannot cross into someone else's property.
That's what caused the Youth Minister's late arrival. He was on his way to church and there was a
not-so-smart-cow that had tried to walk across the cattle guard and had one of
her legs wedged between the pipes and could not get out. While I do not profess to know the whole story,
I did hear before help could be summoned, the cow decided she would get herself
out but before long all four of her legs were stuck between the pipes. Now if you have this vision in your mind, you
will understand not only is the cow in distress, she is blocking the road!
I don't know the details of freeing the cow, and I am
suspicious of parts of the story as it was told during church, but we were
assured the cow was set free and the travelers on the country road could
continue to their destination. While I
am assured the details here are correct, I cannot help but think there just has
to be some "stretching" of this story, and those details are probably
enhanced every time the story is told to someone else.
I wrote about this story today because it comes very close to
describing the predicament of mankind.
Most of us are in possession of some measure of intelligence, yet we get
ourselves so entangled in the cares and problems of this world, we get
stuck. Just like the cow with one leg in
a cattle guard, we think we are strong enough and smart enough to get ourselves
out, but the more we try and the more we struggle, we end up learning the truth
that we are beyond getting unstuck by ourselves. It's
usually then we cry out to God to save us.
I, too, have prayed for God's deliverance from problems and
difficulties, from pain and sickness, even from the messes I have made in
life. It's always God's love and his
grace that brings freedom from whatever causes our distress.
It's then I ask myself, "Why didn't I seek God's answer
before I was completely entrapped like the cow, with all four legs
stuck?" God is always there,
always concerned, and always willing to help us through every snare we
encounter. Ask him......he will
provide.
"He fulfills the desires of those who
fear him; he hears their cry and saves them." Psalm 145:19
<ronbwriting@gmail.com>
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