"Cowboy Pie"

The center’s sweet and spicy,

The edges crusty flake,

The top sprinkled with seasons,

You’ll want more than they bake.

And no, it’s not for eating,

It’s called a cowboy pie,

It’s what makes him a cowboy,

And tells some reasons why.

He doesn’t ride for money,

There never is enough,

Lord knows it’s not too easy,

Requires some kind of tough.

He can be sentimental,

‘Bout children and the past,

And been known to shed a tear,

When someone didn’t last.

He’d rather be a-horseback,

Than ever be afoot,

And he can’t count the injuries,

He’d always be hard put,

Tell why he got back on ‘em,

Every time he fell,

Sometimes in the mornin’,

Those places hurt like hell.

His head is mostly covered,

His mouth is mostly shut,

If you want his opinion,

You might not make the cut.

‘Cause he has grown partic’lar,

‘Bout what he volunteers,

Grown past what folks think of him,

And conquered many fears.

But guess the cowboy makin’s,

Are in his DNA,

And when it comes down to it,

He knows no other way.

He stands up for the country,

Pledges with hat off,

And has no patience for the ones,

Who take a knee and scoff.

He’ll bow his head and say a prayer,

Though wild in younger days,

He’s given up to Jesus,

And changed most of those ways.

So that’s a little somethin’,

About the cowboy pie,

And now you know what’s in it,

And even reasons why.

The center’s sweet and spicy,

The edges crusty flake,

The cowboy pie’s a-bakin’,

It’s somethin’ you can’t fake.

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed…” (Psalm 139:16, NLT)

God has a plan for our lives, even cowboys. But the bottom line is that we all learn who’s in charge and learn to cooperate with Him. Some think they’d make a better God than God. Not true. When that happens, whatever identity they embrace becomes idolatrous. God is the only one who can teach us to live authentically. Then, whatever our pursuits, we belong to Him and are shaped and transformed by Him. Being a cowboy is one thing, but learning to cowboy up is everything.

Lord, teach us to acknowledge and cooperate with our God-given identity, in Jesus’ name.