Farewell To A Friend

 

I was at work about two weeks ago when my wife called me to tell me that a former pastor of mine had passed away.  Like all news of this nature, it is sad and heavy and starts your mind thinking of your mortality and how brief and fleeting this life is.  News like this makes you take inventory of your life.  Is what you are doing meaningful and do you make an impact on others?  Do the things you invest your time in pay eternal dividends?

Charlie was my pastor when we lived in Kinder and attended the First Methodist Church there.  When my newborn son had a life-threatening illness, he rode with me to Children's Hospital in New Orleans and prayed with us, standing by our side in the toughest of times.  His heart was so big and he thought nothing of sacrificing his time to meet our spiritual needs.

He was a voracious reader and his sermons were always so well-researched and interesting!  A brilliant student of history, and a fantastic storyteller, Charlie incorporated interesting examples and thought provoking points to open our hearts to the teachings of Jesus.  He challenged us to live for Christ.  I still remember how he taught us that the word BELIEVE in the Bible (Acts 16:31) is the Greek word pisteuo, which means to entrust, rely on, and is more than just mental assent.

He and his beautiful family lived just down the road from the family grocery store that we managed.  It could be a stressful job at times and Charlie could sense that.  I was young and idealistic and probably immature in a whole lot of ways.  Charlie would walk over and ask me to sit with him in a swing under a big oak tree behind the store.  He would pull out a worn copy of C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters and read a chapter to me.  We would discuss the topic in the day's letter and then he would pray with me.

He was so thoughtful, so intelligent, so giving.  I'm not the only one who thought this.  The whole community, even those who didn't attend his services highly respected him.  I missed him dearly when the Methodist Church moved him to a different pastorate.  Later, we learned that his daughter, Katie, was seriously injured in a car accident, and suffered a traumatic brain injury.  We kept up with the CaringBridge posts and prayed and prayed for her healing.

Over the passage of time and years, we had lost touch, but almost a year ago, Charlie presided over the funeral of a family member in Welsh.  We were able to sit and visit for a long time afterward.  It was SO good to get to see him and reconnect.  His familiar smile, humility, kindness and big heart had not changed.  Charlie lived a life that made such an impact on my life.  He loved the Lord Jesus and studying His Word.

A New Home for Promise

Promise was our dog that we rescued from a shelter.  I lose track of time, but I'm going to guess it has been six years ago.  After Benjamin's first puppy, Cutie Pie, was stolen, we visited a shelter in Lake Charles and came home with Promise.  Promise was a pretty female Beagle-mix and she was a lovable dog.  She showed promise, but sadly, things never quite worked out.

Promise's demeanor was extremely hyperactive.  Extremely hyperactive.  She would run and jump up on people.  When the kids were younger, she would knock them over.  Her incessant jumping made you not want to be around her.  She would knock you off-balance, get you dirty, and basically make you go crazy.  I know I told her a hundred times, "Promise, if you would just settle down, people would love to be around you.  You push people away!"  But she never learned and her lack of calm and absence of serenity always sent everyone heading in the opposite direction.  Did I mention she liked to eat chickens, too?

One of her redeeming qualities was her barking.  I won't lie - this 'quality' drove us crazy at times.  She barked loud and often.  She barked at Big Boy (our dog), other dogs, strangers, possums, chickens, the moon, the cows, the goats, the cats, and her shadow.  This attribute, however, endeared her to a friend who was over visiting.  He asked if we might be interested in giving her away.  He lives near a busy road and wanted a dog that would bark at people.  Promise seemed like the perfect match for him.  Our friend has five other dogs that she would be able to run around with and he lives on a farm with cows and goats.  We talked about it briefly and quickly agreed that this would be a great opportunity for her!

This afternoon as we walked by Promise's dog house (that still has Cutie Pie's name above it), we commented that we are missing her.  But we are happy for a new beginning for Promise in a place that is just a better fit for her.  I know she'll be happy!

A New Home for Maggie Moo

As discussed in previous posts, our little 3 acre pasture is just not big enough to carry the amount of animals we have grazing on it now.  Three cows in milk require a lot of grass to keep the 'milk machines' producing. We got a call from a farmer right down the road that had a mama cow that died and needed a nurse cow to provide milk for the little calf.  Our Magnolia (Maggie) was a good fit for him.

Tricia texted me at work and told me that the farmer was coming to pick her up right after noon.  I wasn't even going to be able to tell her goodbye.  I could tell that Tricia was a little sad about selling Maggie.  She has been a real good cow for us.  She gave us a nice heifer in Lili, that we sold last week, and she was a good show cow that gave Russ lots of ribbons, buckles and honors.  Tricia walked out to the pasture to get Maggie.  Maggie looked up from her grazing.  You can tell how they've got the green grass clipped down pretty short.

Hey Maggie

But Maggie is all about eating.  Tricia's distraction was only momentary and she was back with her head down, ripping out grass with her strong tongue.

Maggie loves grass

She decided to give Amy one last drink of milk off of Maggie.  Amy is Rosie's little heifer, but Maggie has been providing milk to her so that we can milk Daisy and Rosie twice a day.  Amy is five and a half months old, so she's ready to be weaned. Enjoy your last milk Amy!  Once Maggie is gone, we'll likely hear lots of moo-ing from Amy.  Although grass and hay is good to a cow, that fresh, delicious milk is hard to beat. Weaning can be a hard process for the calf, us, and our neighbors!

Amy's last milk.

As much as you try not to get attached to animals that you know you might sell one day, it is hard to say goodbye when the time comes to sell them.  Our cows become like part of the family to us .  They're gentle and have provided us with lots of milk to drink and make things like butter, cream, ice cream, and yogurt with.

Tricia loaded her up into the trailer and told her that she was a pretty girl and that we were going to miss her.

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone...

And then the farmer fired up his truck and backed out with our Maggie.

Farewell, Mags!

Things are gonna be a little different around Our Maker's Acres Family Farm without Maggie.  She's been chewing her cud on our place for 2 and a half years now.  We'll miss her, but for Daisy and Rosie, well, with Maggie gone that just means they'll have more grass to eat.  We only have one more sale in the immediate future.  Once Bully breeds Daisy and Rosie, we'll sell him.  That's one thing that differentiates farm animals from pets.  Farm animals provide food and although you get attached to them, you've got to keep in mind that one day you'll either sell them (or eat them). It's tough to say, but that's how life goes in the barnyard.