"Old Blue"

Dad said just go catch him,

And don’t come back without,

I thought that was unreasonable,

That steer was wild, no doubt.

An old charbray and something,

Crossed in his old blood,

We had named him Old Blue,

Nasty synonyms a flood.

He had to be ‘bout five years old,

Escaped us every time,

In fall we made our gather,

He vanished without sign.

But when we got new cattle,

The yearlings we turned out,

There he’d be, we’d see him,

Twelve hundred pounds and stout.

But if he smelled or saw a horse,

He’d slip into the brush,

He was there, then not there,

And not even in a rush.

So I thought I’ll bait him,

And somehow set a trap,

I’d use those old range pellets,

Then rope and take a wrap.

So bought a ton of pellets,

Poured out on the go,

Farther in the pasture,

Away from woods, you know.

The yearlings they’d come running,

And then he would come, too,

Waited where he couldn’t see me,

And planned out what to do.

I scattered those range pellets,

In the open pasture there,

Right out in the middle,

I gauged the distance where,

He’d go when I got after,

When it’s time to get him caught,

The thing that was important,

Not to miss him, all for naught.

So picked the day to do it,

My horse tied out of sight,

Put out some extra pellets,

Hoping to get it right.

Two ropes tied on my saddle,

Now one in my hand,

Knew it’s time to ride up,

Hoping that I can.

Stayed back in the thicket,

Tried to be downwind,

The cattle didn’t see me,

Old Blue right where he’d been.

My horse’s ears pricked forward,

Old Dizzy’s muscles tight,

Eased a little closer,

I hope this turns out right.

And all of a sudden,

I ran plumb out of luck,

Right there at my horse’s feet,

Jumped two does and a buck.

Dizzy went to pitchin’,

And I was holdin’ on,

Cattle scattered everywhere,

Old Blue was gettin’ gone.

But then we finally lined out,

And I am on the run,

To get a big loop on him,

We’ve got to get ‘er done.

And sure enough we laced him,

I got my dallies down,

And Dizzy put the brakes on,

And got Blue turned around.

For a minute we just sat there,

I’m thinkin’ close to through,

We put the mojo on him,

And finally caught Old Blue.

I tied him to a post oak,

And made sure he could breathe,

And though it took me quite awhile,

Got loaded up to leave.

But I’ll always remember,

The time we caught Old Blue,

Sometimes the plan will work out,

And when it does, it’s true,

You really have to wonder,

If it’s something that you do,

Or if the Good Lord’s smiling,

And His grace sees you through.

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps…” (Proverbs 16:9)

It’s generally a good thing to make a plan. The alternative can become very chaotic. But we all have experienced times when everything we planned didn’t happen. It was interrupted and dismantled, and sometimes by something we did not expect nor do we control. Other times eveything we planned works out beautifully, just as we hoped and expected. We tend to give God credit when that happens. But, truth is, God is working whether our plan works or not. In fact the scriptures promise that He works in all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. That’s encouraging, don’t you think? I love it when my plans work, but need to remember that an interruption may be of God, too. I want to surrender all I plan to the Lord, and then trust Him to fill in all the blanks as He desires, and according to His timing.

Lord, help us to embrace the exact character necessary to become most available to the changes we need to make, in Jesus’ name.

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