Lulu and me

Anyone who knows me at all will verify the fact that I am not a morning person.  Not even close to a morning person.  I deeply treasure the serenity that evening brings.  The quiet and stillness is breath taking.  It's truly when I feel most energized.  I do recognize the fact that many people feel that same way about morning... I'm just not one of them.

Yet, there I was wide awake at 3:45 am.  Now if I'm awake at that time it's usually because I haven't gone to bed yet.  Usually.  I went to bed at 10:30 after a long but productive day yesterday and fell asleep in a relatively quick manner.  So I simply asked "Lord, why am I awake?"  An image came to mind immediately, it was Lulu.

In case you don't know me personally I should explain that I live on a dairy farm.  Lulu is a cow.  She's a good sized Brown Swiss that stands in the third stall down from the upper end on the right side of the barn.  And Lulu is due to deliver a baby.

It did take me a few minutes (I confess) to talk myself out from underneath the warm covers and venture downstairs.  Put the boots on and that heavy winter coat-it is January after all- and trek to the barn to check on the mother-to-be.

What was I going to find? A heifer calf? A bull calf?  Perhaps a cow struggling in the throes of labor?  I didn't know what adventure waited for me in the barn- but I was eager to discover it.  Me-eager at 4:00 am? This is new.

What I found in the barn was not at all what I anticipated.  There was Lulu standing tall, munching on hay.  No calf in sight-no evidence of a birth at all.  It's not time yet for the newborn I surmise.  There was nothing new or unusual going on in the barn.  Everything was normal.  This was a waste of time- not to mention sleep.

Or was it?

On the return walk to the barn the thought occurred to me, it's the journey.  

Oftentimes we fixate on the end result not the process of getting there.  It's the process where we grow and learn who we are.  The potential life of this calf was far too important to me at that moment to lay in bed and say "Gee I wonder if she's alright."  I could have stayed in bed, tried to fall asleep and carry on with me.  But while I grow as I traverse the path, the path I'm on isn't always about me.

In my last post I mentioned that banner above the sanctuary at church that reads "Our Journey Together 2014". I change and develop as a person not only through my own experiences but also through the observation of the lives of those around me.  We are in this together.  Our life paths are unique to us but they do not stay parallel to the paths of those around us.  They criss-cross and overlap, weaving in and out, around and through the paths of others.  We love, we despair, we grieve, and we find joy.  Together.  

This morning Lulu and I traveled for a moment together.  I went to check on her, provide for her needs, and be there for her.  Turns out she didn't need me at that moment, but I can't help wonder if she thought "Thanks for looking after me. I don't need you yet, but I will soon.  Now I know you'll do your best to be there when I need you."

Lulu and me- God and me- you and me. We're all in this together.

God bless you on your journey!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The lost art

This has come up in several conversations over the last week so I decided to blog about it.   Yesterday, I wrote a letter to an old friend.    Now I didn't hand write it; it was 1200 words typed.  It felt good and in all honesty I've been trying to compose it for 4 months but could never find the words.   How many of you still send letters?  Real letters through the postal service I mean. Not emails or text messages or video messages but good old fashioned letters.  I do believe it's becoming a lost art. I have a letter from a former employee of my parents who worked for us when I was about 14.  When she retuned to college she wrote me.  I have letters from my mom and grandma from when I worked at camp I have letters from people I camped with, letters from college friends, letters from other friends. Letter writing can be a useful tool.  In college I was sent a letter from a friend who disagreed with a decision myself and some others had made.  Not certain how to handle it
Read more

The voice of God

Image
Imagine yourself walking through the forest on a breezy day.  The sun shining, the birds singing, the twigs are snapping underfoot.  You hear the leaves rustle in the trees.  Now try to listen to a solitary leaf as it rustles with the others. Most days I really feel that's how it seems when trying to discover voice of God in a situation.  A still small voice, overwhelmed by the rest of the gods (notice the small "g") in our life.  I have situations in life I have prayed days, weeks, months, and in some instances years for clarity.  Yet, I'm left just as confused, if not more so, than when I started. What or whom in my life do I give power to other than God?  Do I trust Him to work out situations for His glory rather than my own?  Am I following after what I want or after what He wants?  These are questions I struggle with daily in a multitude of situations. I read the Bible. I pray daily.  I've fasted for a period of time in an attempt to properly discern the will
Read more

100 days

Image
A friend said recently, "I think it's time for another blog post.  I miss them." Truth be told I wanted to write a new post but topics eluded me.  There's been a lot going on, and quite frankly I didn't want anyone to assume I was writing to them in hopes they would see things my way.  And that could have easily applied to about 6 or 7 people over the last several weeks/months.  No one deserves to have individual matters called out in a public forum. Monday I found this post on my newsfeed about 100 days of happiness.  I considered not participating, after all I haven't had a full day of happiness in about 3 years.  Don't get me wrong I've had happy moments, happy hours but I'm not certain I can say I've had an entire happy day.  And yes, I remember the last day I was fully happy, and no I'm not telling you, dear reader, about it. So I posted on Monday a picture of my buddy Sarge.   He is a playful, one year old German Shepherd and Black La
Read more