The Bull and Ladder

October 20, 2010

My Brother Edwin tells of a most stressful evening when he owned several head of Black Angus cows, including a bull named “Papa.”

“One of the menial tasks every fall was to fill the barn with bales of hay to feed the cattle through the winter. This particular year the hay farmer parked the trailer of hay inside the pasture area where the cattle were grazing, instead of outside the fence where he normally parked it. Since it was late in the afternoon, I could not unload the hay. After fastening six-foot boards around the trailer, I gathered any available heavy metal hardware to cover the steel angle at the trailer hitch. Included in this protection hardware was an aluminum extension ladder that had been folded to twelve feet in length. About bedtime I thought I would check the hay trailer. As I approached it, I heard a crashing sound on the backside of the pasture. I shined my flashlight and saw the bull we called “Papa” walking in my direction with his head through the middle section of the twelve-foot ladder. As I walked toward him, I could tell he was not a happy trooper. I reached down to see if I could hold the ladder and maybe he could slip his head from the ladder rungs. As I touched the end of the ladder, he swung his head causing the ladder to go whizzing in an arc, just barely missing me. I was beginning to wonder if it was possible to ever get the ladder off his head. I thought of calling the vet to see if he could shoot a dart of medication to temporarily subdue him so we could pull off the ladder. Suddenly, I remembered that I had a light at the barn. I filled the manger with hay and I started calling for Papa to come for the hay. At first there was silence, then I could hear the crashing sound, and then I could hear him picking up speed heading straight for the barn. I had a sinking feeling. Papa and the twelve-foot ladder were heading full speed toward a ten-foot opening. The 1,500-pound bull came through the opening with so much force that the ladder bowed as if it had been a paper clip.”

The message of the story for me could be:
When I’m faced with a surprise barrier that attempts to stop me from achieving the best choice for my life, God will help me reach the goal.

Today, Avis and I will meet with my oncologist and hopefully get some answers to his plan for me to get back into remission. I am trusting his plan but know God is planning the best route for me. I just need to break any negative barrier that tries to stop me from achieving the goal.