GOAT Knees

A popular saying with some young people these days is when something or someone is really good, they call it/them GOAT.  I had no idea what that meant until it someone explained to me that GOAT is the acronym for Greatest Of All Time.  So if anyone ever calls you GOAT, it is a good thing - be flattered, they are describing you as the greatest of all time!  If they call you an old goat, well, that's NOT a compliment.

We do have actual goats on the farm, though, two of them, both Nubian goats. Nubians have a heritage from the Middle East and Northern Africa, so they can withstand the hot climates of South Louisiana.  Nellie is our mama goat that we're currently milking and Annie is her little girl.  We'll probably get them bred again next month.  Goats are such interesting, quirky creatures with funny personalities.  Here's old Nellie, sitting by the gate.

Nellie the Nubian Goat

Nellie has quite a profile.  She has long ears and a long white beard.  You can see it hanging below her jaw. If you look closely in the photograph she has two three inch long waddles that hang from her neck.  No one knows what purpose they serve.  She is curious and has lately taken to jumping on top of the chicken coop, standing up on her hind legs and pulling down limbs of an oak tree to eat the new Spring leaf growth. The cows all use that opportunity to rush over and eat on the leaves while Nellie's holding the limb down.  The cows try to head-butt Nellie every chance they get.  They don't like her and I think the feeling is mutual.

Quite a profile

Nellie is very tame and is easily milked, providing us with goat milk with which we make kefir.  Goat kefir mixed with local honey and pureed fresh frozen fruit (figs, blueberries, peaches) is my breakfast on most mornings.

One other characteristic of Nellie is her knees.  Just look at them!  Not very pretty to look at.  They're rough, hardened and no hair grows on them due to Nellie staying on her knees a lot.  She'll kneel down on those knobby knees, push her head through the fence and eat weeds and grass growing on the other side. Over time, the friction of this process repeated time and again, has given her calloused, goat knees.

Calloused Goat Knees

When I observed this, I couldn't help but think about prayer.  Have you ever known someone who was a prayer warrior? People with great faith spend a lot of time on their knees in prayer, praising God for His Faithfulness, thanking Him for the blessings He bestows, interceding on behalf of others who are afflicted with illness or heartache, and pleading with God to answer their prayers.  Nellie is a goat and as far as I know, goats don't pray, but Nellie convicted me.  My knees aren't anything to look at, but they certainly aren't calloused like Nellie's.

Of course you don't have to kneel to pray.  You can pray in any position you wish. Looking at Nellie's Goat knees was a convicting reminder to me that my prayer life could use some improvement.

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." - John Wesley

GOAT knees

Wouldn't it be nice to be known as GOAT Prayer Warrior?  I need to be on my knees more, literally and figuratively.  Thanks for illustrating that perfectly, Nellie.