Rodeo

Boots were required...This was the prerequisite in the e-mail I sent my daughters. I would love to take the kids to see the animals at the rodeo....you are welcome to come...but it would be my pleasure to have them all by myself....9:30 my house! It took no time to get a reply...and sure enough at 9:30 they all rolled up to my back door....all wearing their boots...except for baby Sam....but that didn't stop him from getting to come too This was a field trip that even the moms wanted to be included in...and I so enjoy their company...I am glad they did...for there was a time when they were the ones saddled up for adventure...but that was in the dome.

I don't know what it is about the rodeo or rodeo season but it just fills my heart with joy to be around it. I have been on a rodeo committee for years am a lifetime volunteer and I just love it. Dragged my kids with me for all those years and now I have grandbabies that seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Maybe it is the animals...both grand and tiny....and the smells of pastures, and the simplicity of country living that comes along with those who are participants and not merely the onlookers. But when the season comes to put on my boots....my boots are going to be walking right into that door of fun.

There really is such a sense of wonder that kids have. Even if they have seen it before...they look onto the animals with such interest and gentleness and appreciation for the four legged creatures that they most often only see from afar as they travel down a road. This time they get to get up close and personal and pet them...and if we are really on our game...we get to pass one of them walking with the handlers and get to squat on that dirty floor (the floor is insignificant) and be face to face with the animal in tow...as the handler is gracious enough and proud enough to stop and show his/her animal off. There is just nothing like seeing the faces of contentment and satisfaction as they kneel down and are awarded a personal invitation to touch and examine the eyes and the nose and the ears of the animal ...and pet them all the while.

All God's creatures.... great and small...are created just as God has planned....for purposes he has planned. Children see these animals with such awe and curiosity...and an eagerness to touch them...When did we as adults lose that wonder? Maybe you never had it...maybe you were never exposed to it...or maybe you were taught that they are dirty or scary...and to stay away. but one thing I observed as I watched my little grandchildren was...there is a healthy curiosity that I know God would promote in a one on one introduction to
seeing animals up close and being able to touch them. It expands their world...and gives them a further glimpse of God's creation.

We, as adults, too many times have lost our sense of wonder...our sense of appreciation for the many creations that God has made. Our priorities for seeking "wonder" have been substituted for our dependence on work or schedules or responsibilities and our sense of curiosity has been replaced by activities that are associated with routine rather than adventure. Wonder is one of the ingredients for belief. if you allow yourselves to wonder then chances are you are more able to believe....believe in God's truths, believe in God's provisions, believe in God's authority, believe in God's forgiveness....and believe in God's grace... Children are such reminders of the blessings that are before us that we overlook. For they see things with new eyes where we have allowed ourselves to have our vision blurred by stale and aged repetition....instead of asking God to help clear our vision and see people and his world as he sees it.

John 4:48
"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

I know they are just animals...but they are animals that have been created by an awesome God with a infinite sense of beauty and precision and purpose....just as he has created us. Us city folks....are surrounded by concrete...and tall buildings and iron fences..and to some that is just where they want to be...but to me there is a freedom in the fields and pastures and hills of country living that I tend to long for....and I think children have that sense as well...for children are naturally curious and interested in what lives outdoors...and in the wild. And oh what a blessing to be a partner to helping them have an opportunity to have see those big cows and those thin legged goats and the full feathered chickens. The rodeo brings a little country to the confines of our city...and I am sure glad they do.

You might not be a rodeo fan...or a farm animal fan....oh but the wonders of the animals that we as city folks know so little about....are released in the eyes of children....when we give them a chance to see them up close and personal.
And it even helps us to step back a minute and slow down and think of the many occupations and the many resources that these animals provide for our benefit.

Dear Lord...Help us to slow down and not be so busy and so consumed with our daily lives that we miss some of the fields of wonder that you have created that are before us. Amen


Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for His glory will shine through.