by Molly Noble Bull
Cowboy in South Texas herding cattle.
The dictionary defines a cattleman as someone who raises cows, bulls and steers, but at one time, the word cattle applied to all domesticated animals, including sheep and goats. By the old definition, Abraham, David and others mentioned in the Bible were cattlemen. So what is it about cattle raising that would cause so many of the old patriarchs to choose it as their livelihood? Nobody knows. But I would like to make a guess.
Remember the song, Home on the Range?
Give me a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and antelope play. Can you think of a more peaceful setting?
Gone are computers, the blaring sounds of a radio or a television set, the maddening scramble to get to school or work on time. Traffic. Horns honking. Brakes squeaking. Schedules. Pickups and drop offs. Meetings and sports events.
No wonder we don’t have time for God.
But if a cattleman is riding his horse across the open prairie with the sky above and the earth beneath or watching a herd of sheep by night, he has time not only to pray but also to listen to God—and expect an answer. In fact the Bible says that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and his saints will return to earth riding white horses, and as a cowgirl of sorts, I like that promise.
In our busy world of today, let us all spend time with God as the cattlemen do. Another song says that there is a place of quite rest and that the place is the heart of God.
