"Escapee"

Yonder she go and there she went,

That crooked horned old witch,

Jumped two fences, got away,

And swam the neighbor’s ditch.

Hadn’t seen her in a year,

I don’t think she was bred,

I guess she done got plumb away,

That’s all my good friend said.

And then he got a call one night,

The neighbor down the road,

Said I’ve got your old lost cow,

Come on, I’ll help you load.

But when my buddy got there,

That derned old cow was gone,

She jumped out of the catch pen,

Didn’t know where she belonged.

But then she tolled in once again,

With the neighbor’s cows,

And he got her on his trailer,

We didn’t ask him how.

Got backed up and threw the gate,

And she once more was home,

But you will not believe it,

She still had some roam.

And the boy who helped us,

Was a cowboy wanna-be,

And when she turned he panicked,

And she escaped, you see.

But Steve had his horse saddled,

And never did lost sight,

And swore he’d get that hussy roped,

Before another night.

And sure enough he followed her,

Where the brush was mighty thick,

But he didn’t ever once let up,

And made his old loop stick.

He dragged her at least half a mile,

Back where the trailer sat,

And that is where she spent the night,

And that, my friend, was that.

Early the next morning,

Old Steve he cranked his truck,

And said we’ll get this hussy sold,

If we have any luck.

And that is just what Steve got done,

But then we heard the news,

She jumped out of the stockyard,

New owner had the blues.

The moral of the story,

The worst can still be caught,

But even if you catch ‘em,

Not all want to be taught.

You can’t make ‘em mind you,

No matter what you do,

And when you’ve done all that you can,

You’ll know that this is true.

“But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust off your feet as you leave…” (Mark 6:11, NLT)

God has called us to love everyone, forgive everyone and not to judge them. God has called us to be a witness to those who need Him. But there are people who will not listen nor will they receive the grace of God. These people can wear you out with their arguments and criticism. It is a good thing to know when you’ve done enough for them. We put them in God’s hands and pray someone else can help them. But we do not continue to expose ourselves to their negative reactions. Why? Because doing so with drain you and exhaust you to the point that you may not have the energy to help someone who is ready for grace. When it’s obvious you’ve done all you can, move on. Shake the dust off your feet.

Lord, help us know when we’ve done all we can to help someone, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mike Capron, used by permissioin. Thanks, Mike, and God bless you.