Spiritual Lessons from Cows

I had some contact with cows when I was young. My father was a livestock dealer working mostly buying and selling and delivering cattle and horses to farmers. He worked for my uncle, Walter Pritchard, on a farm about a half-mile from our home in the small village of Waterford, Minnesota.

  

There were some advantages to having your father as a livestock dealer. We could ride horses whenever we wanted. There was a steady turnover of horses and after having several run away with me, I lost any desire to ride. However, my brothers rode quite a bit. There was a large arboretum connected to one of the colleges in Northfield (two miles from Waterford) where we could ride and walk.

 

 My father‘s work was exciting to us. Sometimes we would go with him to livestock auctions. Because he was a well-known livestock dealer and did not want other people bidding on an animal just because someone with experience did, he gave a sign to the auctioneer when he wanted to bid. He always wore a cowboy hat and would reach up and tip the corner of his hat.

 

Sometimes we went with my father to the big pasture where extra animals that couldn’t fit in the smaller pastures at the Pritchard farm were kept. A huge windmill was there to interest small folk.

 

Waterford was a wonderful place to grow up. It had only one store unless you called the gas station across from where my father worked part of Waterford. There were only a couple houses between our place and where my father worked so the gas station was not really in the village. There was the beautiful Cannon River with wood paths on the side closest to us and on the other side was the arboretum. The people in Waterford were friendly and looked after each other. We children played games like “Hide-and-Seek,” “Red Light Green Light,” “Sardines,” “No Ghost-Out-Tonight,” “Kick-the Can, “Aunty I-Over”--mostly at our house. My mother had been a teacher and loved children. She also knew how to keep a firm hand on any that got out of control--children love a safe environment and ours was. We had an acre property with lots of paths around the house and a road in front on which to ride bikes back and forth. We played baseball, touch football, and “Red Rover” and “PumPum Pull Away” in the community park.

 

My mother organized a Waterford parade each year where we children would decorate our bikes or ourselves and go around the block (the dirt road that went in a square throughout the houses) about 6:30 p.m. when the fathers were home from work. She also organized a Christmas program for the Sunday school each year (the Sunday School and Christmas program were held in the Community Hall). I would draw Christmas scenes on the four blackboards with colored chalk and the children in Waterford would say poems and take part in the manger scene or Christmas plays. The whole community would come and we would exchange gifts and have bags of candy, nuts and fruit.

 

We took May baskets around each May 1, putting them by someone’s door before ringing the bell and running to hide so that person couldn’t catch and kiss us.

 

My father worked six days a week, ten hours a day and sometimes he had to do chores on Sundays as well. He had a two-week vacation every summer and one of those weeks we spent in a cabin on a lake. The other week we spent at my grandparents farm twenty-three miles from the town of Staples in northern Minnesota. When we grew older we children would spend a couple weeks with our grandparents. That is when I first really had experience with cows. Although my father worked with them, they were just objects, something you didn’t go close to, especially the bulls.

 

My grandfather had a small farm with two work horses, Dick and Major, that we got to sit on sometimes when my grandfather was leading them to and from work, a few chickens (it was fun to look for and gather the eggs), pigs (a slop pail was kept for all the peelings, left-over food, etc. for the pigs) and cows.

 

One incident that my grandfather used to tell was that one fall I asked him the names of his cows. When he told me, I said, “That’s not what you told me in the spring.” His cows had their own personality and they all looked different to me. Bluebell was black and white, mostly black and she was the bell cow (she wore a bell around her neck so grandpa-and my mother when she was a girl-could find the cows when they were in the large wooded pasture behind some of the fields on their farm). Spotty was a large Holstein with black spots on a white coat. Most of the others cows were Jerseys--Daisy, Rose, Violet, etc. I learned to milk by hand and usually milked one or two of the easier to milk cows every morning and evening when I was there. My grandfather always had a bull in with his cows. Some were dangerous and all of them we avoided. I remember him teasing us once by taking a big two by four and dancing around the bull saying, “Come on and fight.” We were so afraid for him, but he knew there was no danger. One of my brothers used to get on the backs of calves in a small stall and pretend he was in a rodeo.

 

 

Those were my first experiences with cows. It was good, associated with love and fun times.
LESSON: When God wants you to do something later on, He often prepared your heart well in advance. His many little acts of love are preparing you.
The little things parents do for their children are always worthwhile: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…” Proverbs 13:22 God planned it that way.

  

                                                                                      

Many years later my husband, Jim, and our two children, Scott and Jill moved to a small farm in Nova Scotia. Jim is from Nova Scotia and his parents lived about twelve miles from us on an apple farm. I had had no experience with cows for several years. However, when we moved to this farm, I really had a desire to have a cow and milk her.
LESSON: God often puts a desire in your heart for the things He wants you to do.

 

 

 I had asked Jim to buy a cow for me (small request!). He was very busy so it didn’t get done. One day I was standing in the foyer at church. Carl Gates was the only other person there. I felt since Carl was the one Jim planned to ask about purchasing a cow, maybe I should say something. I did and he sold us a cow.
LESSON: Even if you have a capable husband God expects you to do some things for yourself. Proverbs says of the wife of noble character, “She considers a field and buys it…” Proverbs 31:16

 

 

We were planning to buy a cow from Carl for about $800. After Jim and Carl spent one day trying to catch her, Jim came home with another cow that had cost $1000. That cow was gentle, healthy and gave us years of service.
LESSON: God can use what appears to be a difficult experience to change the circumstances so that you will do what is best. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

 

  

When I went down to the farm to see her, the first thing I saw was her horns over the top of a stall. Perhaps this was going to be more than I expected!
LESSON: God often gives us a strong desire because we need it in order to follow his leading.

 

 

We named our cow Cookie. She was a large Holstein--white with black spots. I asked God to take the fear away from me of our cow. I thought I would testify in church if He did. Several months later I realized that He had. I had forgotten all about it-it had been so gradual. Then I testified about it in church.
LESSON: Sometimes God does things gradually. Often He has to change our hearts to cause a permanent change.

 

 

Our house was in a beautiful location on a hill overlooking the Minas Basin. Our neighbor, Ralph Connell, lived at the bottom of the hill across from our barn. He was a retired farm hand. At one time he had milked over thirty cows by hand and walked five or six miles to get to the farm on which he was working by 5:30 a.m. We spent several hours talking to him. He would milk the cow in the evening and take the milk he wanted.
LESSON: God often supplies miraculous help (if we recognize it as that). I didn’t realize how much I needed to know in order to keep a cow successfully.

 

 

I first milked our cow when Jim and Mr. Connell were with me. The first morning I had to milk the cow alone, I thought I would do it before Scott (age 4) and Jill (age 2) were up. However, it didn’t work that way. By the time I was ready to milk, Scott and Jill were ready to wake up. I had to leave them with breakfast all ready, directions with what to do if they needed me and a prayer for God to take care of my children. It took over an hour. When I got back the kitchen was a mess, but everyone was happy. Scott has been fussy, expecting me to do everything for him. He and Jill had been arguing about every little thing. This morning when I was gone Scott had to climb up on the counter to get something for Jill, which made him feel useful and competent. Jill realized that her brother was good for something. It had worked out well, although I wouldn’t advice other mothers to leave their children alone at that age for that long. Much more often today fathers and mothers do not spend the time they should with their children or give them the protection they should have.
LESSON: God will take care of your children if you can’t be there.

 

 

Since it would take me about twenty minutes of very repetitious work to milk each morning I decided this would be a good time to pray. The only trouble was that after about five minutes, my mind would start to wander. Cookie would kick every so often. She was a gentle cow so I could quietly put kickers on her. Kickers are iron cuffs with a chain between them so the cow can move her back legs only so far. I put them on before each milking. Every so often Cookie would decide to kick when I was milking, but with the kickers it would only hurt her. However, when she would kick it would remind me how much I needed God and to get back to praying.
LESSON: God uses ingenious ways to teach us to pray. And what seems harmful He can use for good.

 

 

I had to go down to the barn each evening to pick up the milk that Mr. Connell had left. Sometimes I would be so tired at night, but this was something that had to be done.
LESSON: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

 

 

I often had much more milk than we could use. I learned how to make cottage cheese, butter and yogurt. Sometimes, when we had company coming, we would make ice cream with strawberries or raspberries from our farm or other fruit. We started giving some of our milk away. I would put it in two quart glass bottles and Jim would deliver it on the way to work. After some time it began to bother me that some people wouldn’t return their bottles. I was complaining to the Lord one day and He said, “Yes, pray for them.”
LESSON: Sometimes people irritate us because God wants us to pray for them. That is the Christian response. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Romans 12:14

 

 

The people to whom we gave our milk were spending their money foolishly in my opinion. We gave milk to our Pastor but other than that we tried to choose people who we felt needed the milk. It was difficult not to judge the way people were spending their money when it was money saved from us giving them milk. The Lord spoke to me and said, “The integrity of the upright guides them.” Proverbs 11:3
I decided right then that I would charge for the milk. We did and fewer people received it (which made it easier for Jim to deliver), but they bought more. I charged a few cents more then the store so only the people that appreciated raw milk would buy it. Soon the store increased its prices and I never did, but the goal of having appreciative customers was accomplished. Later, Jim told me that the fifty dollars we made a week from selling our milk paid for the gas to run the church bus for his bus ministry (picking up people for Sunday School, church and other events and taking youth and others to events in other communities). I felt that the money I was earning was being used for a worthwhile purpose.
LESSON: Sometimes people do not have money because they will not work for their money or are unwise in spending the money God has given them. The truly poor person is poor through no fault of his own. Sometimes God would have us give to someone that has wasted his money, but we should not assume that just because a person looks poor we should give to him. We should learn to listen for God’s direction in giving our money: “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.” Proverbs 14:15

 

 

We wanted Cookie to have a calf. Cows will not produce milk forever without having a calf. Having a calf to milk later or raise for meat seemed lucrative and fun. We borrowed a bull from Carl Gates. We kept the bull in a stall and every day lured her over to Cookie who was in a stanchion by using a dish full of grain. After the bull was there awhile we had to lure him back. It was scary business, which we did for over a month hoping Cookie would come in heat. Even though the bull was peaceful, one little push from the huge bull could be serious. The bull didn’t seem interested in Cookie so we used artificial insemination.
LESSON: Sometimes God allows us to do something just to teach us. Often we appreciate the services and choices people make the more we learn about their business.

 

 

Cookie had a calf which we named Honey. Honey was easy to milk. The only trouble was Honey was nervous when I milked her and I was nervous when I milked Honey because she might kick anytime. She wouldn’t let me put kickers on her so the time of milking her was tense. She didn’t kick often, but I always had to be ready to take the milk pail out of the way in case she did. I asked the Lord to clear up that situation. He did.
One day Honey kicked so suddenly that she put her foot in the milk pail slashing milk everywhere. Honey didn’t like that so she never kicked while I as milking her again. We had to buy a new milk pail, but it was worth the peace of mind.
LESSON: Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. Sometimes what we are asking requires drastic happenings in order to accomplish the answer.

 

 

Carl was kind enough to loan us a cow. He would not have to milk her and, we could use the milk because we did not have a cow that was producing milk at that time. She gave a large amount of milk, but unfortunately cows that produce a large quantity of milk are more apt to get mastitis. We threw most of her milk away because it was unappealing to drink. Taking care of a cow with mastitis is an added expense and trouble. Jim had to give her a shot of medicine each day, which neither Jim nor the cow appreciated.
LESSON: Although the cow Carl loaned us caused more trouble than she was worth, we had to see that the mastitis was cleared up before we returned her to Carl: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39 “Do to other as you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12 Luke 6:31

 

 

Honey got her nose full of porcupine quills. Mr. Connell helped Jim get them out. He used pliers to pull them out saying that if they were left in, they would go deeper and deeper into Honey and eventually enter her brain and kill her. Curiosity can kill a cow as well as a cat.
LESSON: We sure appreciated God’s gift of Mr. Connell.

 

 

Every year we had the challenge of getting hay for the winter. We had enough extra grass in our pasture so most years we used that. We had to borrow equipment, usually from Jim’s uncle. His uncle and sons were capable of fixing machinery, but still we felt responsible if something broke while we were using it, which it sometimes did. One year we planned to borrow equipment from Bram and Koos Lohr, but it was against their principles to work on Sunday. Not working on Sunday cost them money, but God honored this family’s decision to honor Him and they prospered. The year that we wanted to borrow equipment from them, our crop was ready on a Sunday, and we did not want to borrow it that day. It looked like rain that night so we really prayed that the rain would hold off. It rained some, but our hay was mostly dry the next evening when Bram came with his equipment and some of his workers and helped us get the hay in the barn, something we were not expecting.
The challenge of getting a hay crop never ended. Even at a later date when we decided to buy hay, there were problems. For instance, one year we bought hay that was poor quality from a church member.
LESSON: Sometimes God allows us to go through less than perfect times (even though we pray) and sometimes we don’t understand why. One reason might be that people that read this article can learn about a godly farmer who honored God and prospered.

 

 

One year getting our hay crop in did go well. It was ready on a Sunday. We do believe in setting aside Sunday to worship God and rest. But we also believe there are no hard and fast rules: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers each day alike. Each man should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Romans 14:5 We should do everything for the Lord, doing what we feel He wants us to do.
Jesus, allowing His disciples to pick grain in the Sabbath told the Pharisees, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
We went to church on Sunday morning, had a quick bite to eat, and went out to bring our hay into the barn. Our neighbors, a girl and a couple (all good workers) came to help us. We did not ask them. They just saw us working and knew we wanted to get done so we could go to church in the evening. They did not know Jesus or go to church themselves. What a testimony for Jesus was our example of the importance of going to His house and what a blessing for us that they noticed our need and helped us!
LESSON: God will glorify Himself and take care of us if we seek His will.

 

 

Cookie had been sold. Honey, her calf, was easier to milk, and it is wise to sell a cow before she gets old. I prayed long and hard that she would find a good owner. She did. I never prayed so much for a cow after that, but sometimes the first seems so important.
LESSON: Sometimes God will give us what we want even though He knows the problem is not as important as we consider it to be.

 

 

Honey was a perfect cow for about five years. She had a calf each year. One year she was expecting a calf, and we checked on her after we got home from church. She was in distress so we called the vet. Her calf was in a breech condition. The vet and Jim had to cut the calf’s head off in order to get it out of Honey. Jim had to put his arm into Honey up to his shoulder to make sure that all of the calf was out of her. Poor Honey. At least she survived, but she did not produce milk. Unless we fed her grain, which would be expensive, she would lose weight. We had to butcher her. Several men spent a long time trying to catch her. Finally Jim asked me to help, I just went into the pasture, and she came running to me. I had to lead her into the truck to haul her away. I felt I had betrayed a friend. We kept the meat, which saved us a great deal of money. Jim sometimes said we were eating honey burgers, but the rest of us didn’t appreciate his joke.
LESSON: Someday animals (and humans) won’t have to die: “…Death has been swallowed up in victory.” I Corinthians 15:54 This was one more reason to look forward to heaven

 

 

Jim decided to butcher a cow and invite the whole church to a feast. We planned it for a Saturday afternoon. The Friday night before a young teen-ager, son of a dearly loved family in our church, was in a serious car accident. Many people spent the night in prayer. The next day, since we had already made most of the preparations, we went ahead with the feast. Only a few people came. The young man died. We had a huge 50-pound roast left over to take to the family.
LESSON: God had put it into Jim’s heart to have a feast because He knew that the meat would be needed. God plans and provides for our needs before we even know that we need them. Before our little daughter, Sandra, died suddenly, God had arranged for us to have another refrigerator in our home for the food gifts of others.

 

 

Cookie had one calf and Honey had another. Both calves were almost to the stage of producing their own calves and by that producing milk. I had to get rid of one of them since I couldn’t care for them both over the winter. I chose to keep Cookie’s calf simply because it was younger and would start producing milk at the later time when it was needed. We tried to find a buyer for Honey’s calf, but weren’t able. It was a sad day when we decided to send her to the butcher.
LESSON: God was preparing me to give up the “cattle business.” I loved cows too much to see them come and go so frequently.

 

 

We chose the wrong calf. Honey’s calf had been gentle. Cookie’s calf was wild. We never milked her.
LESSON: God had opened the door and now He was closing the door. Even though we had made the “wrong decision” in the light of which cow would have been better to keep for milking, it was the right decision according to God’s purposes: “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24

 

 

By then we had goats. My son, Scott, really wanted a goat and promised to care for her. He did faithfully for a couple years, which was an excellent experience for him. Then what we had predicted happened. I fell in love with the goats, and when he decided to move on to another enterprise, I took over the goats. I learned one special lesson from goats that I would like to include.
We wanted our goats to have babies, but artificial insemination was expensive and not fully reliable. I prayed for that situation, and God miraculously answered. A lady that had several goats had one male goat that she needed to get rid of, but because he was so special she didn’t want him killed. She gave him to us! He was a beautiful goat-mostly black, but with orange and white. He was shy so stayed away from people and was not at all mean. I was so excited when we got him. I was jumping up and down praising the Lord. Suddenly I knew that this was only for a season.
In one year we had to give up the goat business because we had moved into the town where they did not allow goats. Although we could get buyers for the female goats, no one would even take our male goat, and we had to send him to the butcher.
LESSON: God is concerned with our every desire for the here and now.

 

 

I learned lots from having cows, probably much more than I realize: “…for it is God that works in you both to will and to act according to his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 What a comforting thought to know that God is working in us to chance us into the likeness of His Son: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” Romans 8:29 Sometimes we have to suffer in order to accomplish being made into Jesus’ likeness, but more often God does it in fun and interesting ways.

 

by Jerrilyn Forsyth