The Ultimate Farmer

Did you know God was a gardener? Oh yes! The ultimate farmer!

God is a Husbandman and Shepherd

Indeed, there are many references in scripture to God being a husbandman (gardener) and a shepherd. Our Heavenly Father is the husbandman who prunes the branches (us) on the True Vine (Jesus). John 15

Jesus is also the Good Shepherd who watches over his sheep. He protects us, guides us and feeds us spiritually. John 10 

Farm Lessons

I truly believe God uses all sorts of circumstances and events to teach us more about Himself.

One such event happend yesterday.

As a cattle rancher’s wife, I have a thing for cows. You will find cow prints all over my house.

For example, my AMAZING mother-in-law just made Trevor and I the most incredible quilt for our bed. It has our brand in the middle of it surrounded by embroidered flowers with our kids names in them and bordered by lots of cow influenced fabrics. I LOVE it!

Additionally, instead of a stick person family on my suburban’s back window I have a cow herd! I have cowprint everything from coasters to earrings. I even have a pair of cowprint leggings!

My love of cows spills over into what we watch on T.V. Westerns are big around my house along with “Ferdinand”. We also enjoy a YouTube channel called “The Hoof GP”. This guy works on cow hooves for living. 

Where is the spiritual application in some guy trimming bovine feet?

Yesterday I watched him trim a cow’s hoof that, from the outside looked pretty normal. He knew something was wrong because of the way she was walking so he dug a little deeper. Without warning, pus began to shoot out as he chipped away at the poor girl’s foot. 

The infection had apparently been caused by trauma to her toe and had spread all the way up to her heel, creating a large cavity where the hoof horn was no longer connected to the corium, or fleshy part of the foot that produces new hoof growth.

In order to help this cow he had to remove all the detached hoof horn so that the corium could heal and grow new, healthy, attached hoof horn. 

After that, he glued a rubber block onto the other side of her hoof to help take the weight off of her injured side. 

Scripture Talk

So, what is pride and what does the scripture say about it?

Pride is a conceited sense of one’s own superiority.

• I John 2:15-16 tells us pride is worldy; not of God.
• It causes self deception. Jeremiah 49:16
• Pride leads to destruction. Proverbs 16:18
• It also hinders us from coming to God. Psalm 10:4
• Pride gives an inflated sense of self. Proverbs 26:12

Wow! If pride is so bad maybe we should look at the opposite behavior. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about humility. 

• Christ was the ultimate example of humilty. Philippians 2:5-16
• We are told to only take pride in our Lord. I Corinthians 1:10
• We are to put other’s needs above our own. Philippians 2:3-4
• God will reward humility. James 4:6,10, Matthew 18:4

Lean on Your Lord

Just like the hoof GP shaves the infected hoof horn away to expose the underlying problem, our God chips away at our yucky and, through His Holy Spirit, heals our injuries. Much like the block the doc glued on the injured bovine’s hoof, Jesus tells us to lean on Him for strength and support.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.          Matthew 11:29

Conclusion

To wrap up, I encourage each of you to pray with me that the Lord will open our eyes to the hidden source of every insecurity we battle and then allow Him to clean and heal our wounds while we lean on Him.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him. Colossians 3:17

Meet Mollie

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.