06/01/2026
Have you ever heard the saying…….. sometimes you need to slow down to speed up……
Elizabeth and I this week did exactly that, we slammed on the brakes and pulled out of the fast lane for some unapologetic “US” time. Between my full time job, our full time real estate endeavor, and our full time beef operation….. we needed a time out.
To prove my point once again Jesus loves me, our romantic getaway got started early the night before! Now not the way some of you might be thinking after reading the previous sentence. I was setting outside our front gate at the farm in the car as it rained Wednesday evening. I had just drained and scrubbed the 1000 gallon water tank. I had the water on filling the tank back up. It takes roughly an hour and 45 minutes from start to finish. I was answering text and emails from work and making real estate calls. I looked up and I seen the steers making their way towards the corral for grain and water.
Remember the high headed steer that we attempted to tranquillized in order to catch him at the first of the month? Because he had been in the neighbors pasture for two months. Because he jumped the fence when I tried corralling him. Then after being inebriated by a couple darts decided to put a new opening in my fence line. Yeah, the one I somehow got a rope on, that drug me through my neighbors pasture like a top water jig. Yeah, that one……. Well here he came waltzing into the corral like a fat kid runs to cake. When he made his way to the back side of the feeder out of line of sight this 51 year old bald headed hillbilly slid out of the car like a cat burglar. I hopped the fence like a gold medal hurdler. I quietly sashayed to the gate like a ballroom dancer. I then slammed the gate like the cell door on the drunk tank on Saturday night!
Gluttony is a deadly sin. Him giving into temptation, peer pressure and the open feeder Wednesday night was causing him to repent Thursday morning. Elizabeth and I went to load him up in order to haul him to the stockyards. He was looking up to heaven for a way out or over, I don’t know which. He even dropped to his knees either begging for forgiveness or trying to crawl under, I wasn’t sure. It dawned on me before it was over he could be Catholic. Because he tried confessing to me with conviction. So much conviction I was forced to remove myself from eye level and perch myself on the top rail as he came by snorting and apparently talking in tongues. However, I’m not a priest or an interpreter so Elizabeth slammed the gate as he ran into the trailer and we passed him off like an offering plate.….. I AM WINNING!
Here is what I learned from that sinful bovine. Take every opportunity life provides to free yourself of unnecessary stress and anxiety. Walking around high headed and jumpy isn’t good for you or anyone around you. I believe God puts people and even animals in our lives to allow us to grow. I experienced substantial growth from this particular animal. Unfortunately my vocabulary grew every time I encountered him. I seen at least 3 layers of skin regrowth on my hands after the trip through the neighbors pasture on the end of a rope. My patience grew exponentially. Waiting for the right moment to utilize his weakness and shut a gate instead of using force proved the best option. A feed bucket has caught more outlaws than ropes ever thought about catching. That dumb steer should have utilized the creek and pond more during his stay here over the last 15 months. Because after only a two night stay in a Airbnb skinny dipping in the hot tub thinking about that steers departure and about how much Jesus loves me, I am totally stress free……….. Until Next Time
