"I Thought I Was a Cowboy"

I thought I was a cowboy,

And let me tell you why,

Roy Rogers was my hero,

“Happy Trails” could make me cry.

Cut my teeth out in the country,

On a ranch that was old school,

Dad was a cattle buyer,

And hard work was his rule.

I thought I was a cowboy,

When they handed me a rope,

And by watching Sid and Billy,

And the others gave me hope,

That I wouldn’t be embarrassed,

When it came my turn to throw,

I thought I was a cowboy,

But I really didn’t know.

Turned out I sometimes caught ‘em,

Before they hit the woods,

Only if the others missed ‘em,

Thank God sometimes I could.

I thought I was a cowboy,

When the colts we had to start,

Those two year olds were broncy,

Back then I’d do my part.

But we didn’t have a round pen,

We’d just pony ‘em around,

On a seasoned, old ranch gelding,

That had never been to town.

We’d lead ‘em and then sack ‘em,

And pick up all their feet,

We’d get a saddle on ‘em,

And quietly retreat.

But we tried to do it slowly,

And as gently as we could,

But then step right up on ‘em,

Damn the buckin’ if he would.

But within a couple weeks,

We’d be ropin’ on that colt,

Doctoring sick cattle,

Riding pastures at a lope.

I thought I was a cowboy,

When to the rodeo,

We rode in the Grand Entry,

And watched the whole, big show.

From ‘58 when they began it,

At six already sold,

To last year Covid closed it,

And now I’m growing old.

But I still have my horses,

And I still rope sometimes,

I still love the rodeo,

And I still write these lines.

I’ve met a bunch of top hands,

That knew much more than me,

Their skill always amazing,

And I love what I see.

But even with the best ones,

Guess I’ll admit it’s true,

I thought I was a cowboy,

Don’t know what else to do.

“…let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…” (Rom. 12:2, NLT)

So much of what we do in life is how we think about life. Like the poem says, what I thought about myself impacted what I did. The same is true spiritually. If your thinking is wrong, your behavior will be, too. God specializes in transforming our lives into something beautiful and productive. But this can only happen when He changes the way we think. It’s an inside job that works from the inside-out. The Holy Spirit living inside us facilitates this change, but we have to choose to cooperate if it actually happens. You don’t become what you sometimes think about. You become what you habitually think about. And if your mental habit is directed by the Lord and His Spirit, your life will manifest godly character. Even an old dog can learn a new trick or two, made possible by the One who knows what it takes to change our minds!

Lord, help me think better so I can do better, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.