At a Fence Post

One of the best sermons I ever saw

At a Fence Post by debgrant

I was there doing a favor for friends who owned a small farm. They were away and needed someone who knew their place to meet the cow guy who was delivering a herd of cattle. I knew little about cattle, but I knew their land and could point to the right pasture and the right gate. And I knew how to stay out of the way. I did my job and the cow guy did his. We stood at the fence and the cow guy asked, “Have you ever seen a herd being turned out on a new pasture?” I shook my head. He said, “Watch them… most of them will run the fence line. Once they know the boundaries, they find their way into the pasture to do what cows do best.”

He was right. They ran. They ran from the trauma of their transition. They bellowed. They walked the fence. And then they eased their pace and calmly settled to munch the grass. They did what cows do best. They lived.

This sermon is not for those who like to build fences. Nor is it for those who like to knock all the fences down. There is a time for building up and tearing down. No doubt about that. I am grateful for the ones on the front lines of knowing when to build a fence and when to tear it down.

No, this sermon is the one I preach to myself when the world is overwhelmingly in need and I am only one cow who is not getting any younger. My spirit moves from one pasture to another in the journey of my life because the only thing consistent in life is change. Change is uncomfortable. I walk the fence. I learn my new boundaries, my new limitations. And then I get on with doing what I do best. I live.

Peace,

debgrant