Keep Walking that Dusty Trail....

The past two years will go down in history in this part of the county and many other parts as the drought of 2011 that reached into 2012, and at this point who knows about 2013. Yes I know there have been worse ones..the dust bowl, and the drought of the 50's which I have heard of all my life. But I wasn't alive then so it is all just stories from my dad and my grandmother.

All I can say is getting a first hand look at the devastation that this drought has caused has made their stories more real and I have a new appreciation for the people that lived through those times.

There are ranchers and farmers that will never recover from these past couple of years. I know in big corporate America they are just viewed as the "little" guys as much of our farm land and ranch land is owned by the folks that have the money to ride these things out. But it is the so called "little" guys that have kept this county fed for generations. Family farms and ranches that have been passed down. Men and women that have worked and sweated blood to keep food on their tables and ours. It has been heart breaking to see and know that it may be only a matter of time until they can't hang on any longer.

I pray that is not the case. We need those "little guys", they are what America is about.

Every time I go in and get the mail I drive through a big part of the ranch we live on. Looking out across the pastures that even in this arid land should have a grass cover and seeing nothing but rock and sand makes me sad.  We had a touch of rain here and there and every once in a while you will see a touch of green but that is rare. 

 But what made me most sad has been seeing the cattle. Thin, raggedy looking creatures. Drawn down with little calves trotting by their side. And so many dogie (orphan) calves this year! And the sad thing is many of them were not true orphans their mama's just dried up. DH rescued a couple, but if you don't find them soon enough they either die, or steal enough milk to survive. Many times even if you bring them home if they have been off the cow for a while they refuse to suck. I have always wondered why? It seems it would be instinct but sometimes they just won't.

On one of my many trips to the mail box I began to notice this old poor Angus cow. For some reason she stood out to me. She was no prize, a walking bag of bones with hide stretched thin across her back. But time and time again I saw her she  walked down that dusty  trail with determination. I am sure she would walk away from the water tub in the morning going out to graze on whatever she could find. And in the heat of the day she would walk back to the water. But day after long hot day she just kept on. She was always in the lead, her head down, feet plodding the dry ground. She looked like she could fall over dead at anytime but she never did. Back and forth day after day. Just walking.

As I was reading the word one day I came across this verse in the book of Joel, chapter one. By the way read the whole chapter to see the context of this verse. But this one verse struck me and brought that old cow to my mind. vs. 18 , How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless,Because they have no pasture;Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.


I thought how true! In this fallen world we live in even the animals groan. They long for the long cool rains and the deep green grass. In this fallen world everything suffers. Man and beast.

Verse 19, goes on to say...O lord, (side note....have you ever been so distressed that all you can do is cry out O Lord!, I just want you to know that He hears and honors those prayers.) to you I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. ( Had lots and lots of fires this summer)

Verse 20 , The beasts of the field also "cry out to You." ( Italics mine) For the water brooks have dried up, And fire has devoured the open ranges.
NKJV

This world is fallen because of mans sin. It is our sin that has been the problem all the time. God created a perfect world. Perfect in every way. But man rebelled against God and God had to deal with mans sin. He could not let it go unpunished. It is like when our children rebel against us. If we love them we will correct them. We want the best for them and if we let them go their own way it leads to their destruction. We are Gods children and He loves us. When we rebel against Him, He corrects us out of love, not hate. He wants the best for us. He wants us to be men and women of character that cherish their relationship with Him. He wants to walk and talk with us in the cool of the day, just like He did with Adam, the first man. Can you imagine that! He longs for us.

He longs for us so much that He made a way for us to come back to the "garden" and be with Him. It took a great sacrifice, His only Son. Jesus. Perfect in every way, completely without sin. Perfect.

I have heard people say.."How could a living God sacrifice His only son? How can that be love" But Jesus says this...John 10 vs. 18 "No one takes it from me, ( He is talking about His life)but I lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. "This command I have received from my Father." (again read the whole chapter for context)

Jesus laid down His life willingly. He did it for you and for me. For the world. Is that not love in the truest form? To give your life so others could have life? Would you be willing to do that? Would I be willing? Do we even understand such a great sacrifice?

Do we understand repentance? Do we understand how vile our sin is to the most Holy God? And that our sin was bought with such a price?

In Joel disaster is about to come The people have rebelled against God and God is warning them there will be consequences. And there were..a plague of locusts have come against the land. It was a terrible time. God is having to deal with His disobedient children, yet again. And He does. But it does not bring Him joy to do so. Just like it does not bring us joy to discipline our own children, but it has to be done.

Here in the United States we are walking a thin line with the Lord. I believe this physical drought is a sign of the spiritual drought in this county. Yes we have churches on every corner. We have more access to bible teaching, preaching via, the radio, television, Internet then anytime in the history of the world. Yet we are more ignorant about
 what the Word of God says than ever before. God is a loving God. Jesus is proof of this. But He is also a just God. He is a God that hates sin. He is a God that looks down on this world that has rebeled against Him time and time again so that even the beasts of the fields cry out and groan and I believe He weeps. He weeps for the hardness of our hearts. Those hearts that He longs to hold in His hand and keep safe forever.

I believe hard times are ahead of us. I am not a prophet. I am not a Bible teacher, or scholar. And I fail daily at being a Christian. Thank you Jesus for your abundant grace. I am just a woman that sits at her kitchen table and seeks the Lord in His word.

Tomorrow we will elect a new President of this United States of America. I don't think I am being dramatic when I say that this will be the most historic election of this day. I have heard people say that the fate of America hangs in the balance of how this election turns out. And in a way it does in the physical. But in the spiritual we cannot hang our hopes as a nation on a mere man. Which ever way this ball bounces we have to trust the Lord with our whole hearts. As a nation we need to repent before the Lord. As individuals we need to repent before the Lord.

Repentance.

Joel chapter 2, vs.12 " Now therefore, "says the Lord, Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting and weeping, and with mourning," So rend your heart,and not your garment: return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger and of great kindness.

This world is hard and getting harder. I believe things in this county are going to get hard before long. I know that sometimes I feel like that old poor cow, day in and day out plodding down that long dusty trail. Head down, sad, my life feeling as stretched as the hide on her bony back. And then gently in my spirit the Lord whispers.."look up your redeemer draws nigh, I have promised to never leave you nor forsake you, run the race, fight the fight, and at the end is cool water and deep grass."

God Bless and Happy Trails
RanchWife