"Wreck"

It was early on that mornin’,

And the air was gettin’ brisk,

We were out there in the pastures,

And I will tell you this,

That the collar of my jacket,

Was turned up ‘round my neck,

And little was I thinkin’,

That there would be a wreck.

Just sittin’ there a-horseback,

Waitin’ for the sun to shine,

Me and those three cowboys,

With coffee steamin’ fine.

There was no conversation,

As we sat there side by side,

And I was feelin’ happy,

With contentment I’ll confide.

‘Cause I was with the cowboys,

Who worked there for my Dad,

And every cowboy day that came,

Made me extra glad,

That we lived out in the country,

And those yearlings runnin’ free,

Were waitin’ for our catch twine,

As soon as we could see.

And off we rode together,

To see what we could do,

Dad said there was a wild one,

That we should catch, it’s true.

He was usin’ on the back side,

Near a tank where he could graze,

But he did not belong there,

He’d escaped for many days.

A big old, rangy crossbred,

That we had missed last year,

And, brother, he was crazy,

Dad said get him gone from here.

And sure enough we saw him,

On the far side of the grass,

And he was leavin’ quickly,

That fool was travelin’ fast.

When just as he ran past me,

I cast my old loop true,

And turned and tried to bust him,

Like they said I should do.

But as I changed direction,

My old pony slipped,

And the dally I was holdin’,

Almost lost its grip.

Down across the pasture,

We stumbled and we fell,

But I was taught to hold on,

Come high water or come hell.

I sailed out of the saddle,

Still holdin’ my old rope,

And for awhile I’m flyin’,

But gravity said nope,

And gone with my loop draggin’,

That steer made his escape,

And I was just a-hopin’,

That my parteners weren’t too late.

They headed and they heeled him,

And handed me my twine,

My pony didn’t hurt himself,

But jumped up and was fine.

And me, I learned a lesson,

When the grass is soft and slick,

And you latch onto a wild one,

You’d best not turn so quick.

Just a little cowboy story,

About an early horseback wreck,

I learned a lot from that one,

Not my first or last I ‘spect.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.” (Romans 5:3, NLT)

Problems and trials are a fact of life, and it is naive to think otherwise. But with God’s redemptive purpose, nothing is ever wasted. When, not if, we have a wreck, God promises to use it to teach us what we need to know. Even if the trouble is our fault, God still is faithful to work in all things for His glory and our good. God is out to change us from the inside-out, and some of our most painful moments become catalysts for change. God is after strong character, and it can only be built as we encounter difficulty. What we learn there cannot ever be stolen from us.

Lord, help us learn from every trial, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Teal Blake, used by permission. Thanks, Teal, and God bless you.