© Laura Hicks 2021
On the 8th day God looked down from Heaven and saw what He’d made was good but there was still something missing.
He needed a caretaker – someone to steward His livestock.
So God made a Rancher
God said, “I need someone willing to rise before the sun to saddle cold backed horses, eager to throw a leg up on the day! Someone who will face fear and disappointment with a smile and quick wit.
So God made a Rancher
I need someone who will face uncertainty with a strong back but a soft heart. Someone who will drive the long miles with a lump in their throat but faith in their heart as all their work comes down to this one day at the salebarn.
So God made a Rancher
God said, “I need someone willing to put the livestocks needs even above their own. Someone who will get up and feed critters often before themselves. Someone who will move aside all the pretty shampoos and soaps to soak a calf in the bathtub praying this one makes it.”
God knew He needed someone willing to bend low and breath life into the slimy mouth of a newborn lamb without hesitation. Someone who will give every ounce of themselves to save a baby calf, shed a quick tear when they don’t make it and pick themselves up knowing others still need them.
So God made a Rancher
God had to have someone who would work all day to bale hay before the storm hits only to spend all night helping a neighbor fight fire from the dry lightning. Then pat the neighbor on the back and be grateful it wasn’t worse.
It had to be someone who was willing to look you in the eye as they shake your hand. Someone who would take pride in their work and always finish what they start. Someone willing to do what has to be done and make a promise and keep it.
So God made a Rancher
Someone who could hold a family together through long hours and little time off but who knows full well they’re called to this life. Someone who would smile, and then sigh, when their son or daughter looks up at them and says, “I want to spend my life doing what you and dad do.”
So God made a Rancher
Inspired by Paul Harvey’s 1978 ‘So God Made a Farmer’ Speech