Write Team: Caring for our animals is teaching us, too

Here on the farm, we gain a lot of spiritual lessons while taking care of our livestock. Patience, perseverance, humility and awe are just a few.

Of course, there’s self-discipline from the responsibility of daily chores. There is awe as we witness the miracles of life and birth and growth. We are often humbled as we face the reality that we are helpless to spark the breath of life if it’s not there. All our efforts go toward caring for and enhancing the life in our hands, but we cannot create it.

Much of what is involved in animal husbandry is not so much “doing” things, but observing, making plans, and just being aware of our animals and their well-being.

We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t actually enjoy simply being with them.

We notice when one is not acting normally, if a new calf is lost or confused, or if one is lame or sick. We know them by name and individual characteristics, and we care for each one according to its stage of growth.

We manage our cows’ and sheep’s grazing and our hay harvesting to coordinate with the grass growth so they have the best quality feed we can manage, year around. How they love to follow us to a fresh, new grazing paddock every few days in the growing season.

It also is our just being there with them, day in and day out, that enables them to trust us so when we do need to sort them out for treatment or care, we are able to work them with a minimum of stress.

We don’t expect them to do something they will find frightening. We give them time to sniff and get comfortable with where we’re expecting them to go.

So, then I start thinking about the comment I heard once, that there is a reason Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, not the Good Cowboy. Shepherding is gentle leading, while the cowboy style of animal handling implies rough driving or chasing of the animals, which tends to get them more stirred up than necessary.

These are some of the lessons we are mulling over as we care for our animals day by day. Even as we take our vacations, with another family member covering for us in our absence, we think about how our Good Shepherd never takes a day off.

He is always awake, always conscious and attentive of not only our needs, but also all the billions of lives in His world, whether we acknowledge and appreciate Him or not.

He will never force us to go His way. He knows us better than we know ourselves, seeks us and what is best for us in the long run, calls us to follow Him, and just wants us to trust Him completely.

Winifred Hoffman of Earlville is a farmer, breeder of dual-purpose cattle and a student of life. She can be reached at newsroom@mywebtimes.com