"Thicket Cattle"

I think of names and faces ,

And old time cowboy places,

Where horses labored lathered through the brush.

High headed crossbred cattle,

Gave cowboys in the saddle,

Days of grief a-ropin’ in a rush.

Through pine and bodock thickets,

They punched their cowboy tickets,

And tossed a loop right past that old dog rose,

And sometimes then a-hidin’,

If not careful passed by ridin’,

They’d get away right before your nose.

Tried to get ‘em early,

Before they’re hot and surly,

Grazin’ in some open pasture dell,

And if you know just what you’re doin’,

You might by noon be throughin’,

Loaded up and gone, a tale to tell.

And though I was there for it,

And never could ignore it,

Can’t say I wish for all that heat and sweat,

But guess I’d come a-runnin’,

For a day of wild cow gunnin’,

For catching thicket cattle I’d go yet.

““But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14, NAS)

When Paul said that he forgot what lay behind him he did not mean it literally. He often spoke of his past experience of terrorizing the church and his conversion to Jesus Christ. But what he meant was that he let nothing from the past distract him from the future he pressed for or his present opportunity. Our past is a good place to visit but not to live. If it’s negative we learn from it and move on. If it’s positive we give God glory and move on. Moving on in Jesus’ name. is our daily focus.

Lord, help us never allow our past to steal today, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Herman Walker, used by permission. Thanks, Herman, and God bless you.