Not long ago, while I was driving my daughter to school, I saw two calves who had gotten stuck in the barbwire fencing near the road. They were stuck pretty good. I had imagined that they had only been reaching through the fence for the grasses on the outside of the fence for ferocious grazing. They were wedged, both of them, almost identically part way through and they looked sorely uncomfortable and remorseful about their decision.
Later on I noticed that they had been freed and smiled as I went back home relieved that they had been released from their predicament. They were not new calves they were somewhat grown so you’d think they would’ve known better.
Today as I took my daughter to school again, I saw a calf about the same size as the previous famous two, reaching through the fence for the grass on the other side. I said to him from within my truck “Don’t be going and getting yourself tangled up again mister.” Surely, I am not alone in this talk at people, animals, birds, and other things while you are driving in your car. Please! I know for sure that my friends and I certainly talk when we get behind a car with bumper stickers expressing their political opinions that do not match our own. Or when we see a bird nearly hit our window . . we talk to it or say “crazy bird . . .gonna get yourself killed!” Yeah; we all do.
Only about one second from when the scolding the calf words came out of my mouth. . .I heard a “DING” light bulb above my head and I realized I was getting an instant message (if you will) from God. And the message read in my brain, quote “Now you know how I feel when I’ve seen you get tangled up in stuff you shouldn’t have. . . maybe trying for that grass is greener on the other side of the fence . . .you cross my 
boundaries and you get hurt. Then I gotta worry about you every time you go near that fence again don’t I . . because I love you.”
Oh most definitely. He “Loved Me Good” today (like Michael Smith’s song says.) Here I was thinking “Oh today should me an awesome day” obviously it is also God slapping me upside the head day. That’s okay. He’s right. He’s always right and what a wonderful feeling it is for me today to know that my Heavenly Father cares for me, and watches over me, and knows how I am, and how I’ve been, and sticks right with me anyway.
I am battling quite a few battles personally. Battling some evil, some inner demons, some human tendencies; however I am so grateful to feel such a strong and clear message from God. He is as my daughter says “AMAZE!!!”
Lesson to be learned here from the little calves, even those of us who think we are pretty grown up in
our faith our even especially those of us who feel like we are reaching a good maturity level in our spirituality we still may get ourselves all tangled up in a big mess that we could have prevented. What about that grass that is on the other side of our boundary? Is it that good? If it is why should we care? It is not in the pasture that God gave us. Why do we let ourselves push that envelope, stretch our limits, sneak on over to the other sides? We can’t. WE DO let me tell you; but, we can’t.
I thank God for being so patient with me and I thank him for the almost grown calves teaching me a worthy lesson. Perhaps when I drive by they are saying in moo-language “Slow down woman . . .you can’t straighten out the curve no matter how fast you drive!”
I was thinking about this year’s National Prayer Day and how every day should be be that way. How I need to be more vigilant in my prayers. I think everyone needs prayer and the list for Christians in our world today is really really long. Why not throw in a few comments about praying for those fellow Christians who get tangled up in the fence, those who stayed within the fence, those who crossed the fence and headed straight for some other county, and those who didn’t even know that we should have fences.
We are all battling evil among us. Some of the evil may be partly ourselves, our friends, our legislature, our government, our neighbors, or the hovering hatred spreading like a disease among all mankind. We still can find our Lord, waiting, listening, guiding, and loving us no matter what!
