"Old Bull"

I heard the wind a blowin’,

And rain that fell in sheets,

A bad tornado warning,

One of nature’s feats.

And early the next mornin,’

My daddy’s bull was gone,

I was sent to find him,

Dad didn’t care how long.

 I knew he might be hidin’,

Across our neighbor’s fence,

He often called on heifers,

Where they moved ever since.

And sure enough I found him,

But not ‘longside those cows,

He was stuck up in a tree fork,

Where he had blown somehow.

There he was quite stately,

Not making any noise,

Just surveyed the country,

Like some tree-climbing boys.

And then a big thought hit me,

How will we get him down,

He’s ‘bout twelve feet up there,

Way up off the ground.

At first Dad didn’t believe it,

When I told him the news,

But said go get the chainsaw,

We’ll try to get him loose.

I wish you could’ve seen us,

Ropes tied up everywhere,

And Dad a-sawin’ loudly,

In that big tree up there.

Pretty soon the limb fell,

And our old bull swung free,

I put the pickup in reverse,

Lowered him from the tree.

He just walked off lowing,

Like it was nothing much,

I never will forget it,

My memory can still touch.

The moral of the story,

When the water’s gettin’ high,

And a big wind gets to blowin’,

And you know you can’t stay dry,

Go and find some shelter,

Cry out for grace that’s free,

And don’t be like the old bull,

Who blew up in a tree.

“Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock…” (Mt. 7:24, NLT).

We are all building our lives, but it matters how we do it. Jesus said if we listen to Him and do what He says, we will be building with a rock solid foundation that can withstand the storms that come. Otherwise we’re building on sand and the storm will destroy the house. People’s lives are being destroyed by all sorts of things- addiction, depression, anger, bitterness, and disasters of every kind. Storms happen to everyone. It’s not a matter of “if,” only when. They are unavoidable. But what happens next, and how we respond determines the strength (or weakness) of what we’ve built. I’m not trivializing your storm, only saying you can’t overcome without help from God. And we don’t get God’s strength on our terms, but on His. It’s no less profound because it’s so simple. Listen. Obey. Hear Him, then do what He says. It’s the ultimate wisdom and way to a happy, secure, confident life. The only way…

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