"Ropin' Days"

You can run ‘em ‘cross the rocky ground,

Or through those thickets low,

Hear nothing but wind’s blowing sound,

Horses’ hoofbeats, don’t you know.

Through places that a deer might fly,

Uphill and mighty steep,

On the edge of every cowboy’s try,

Your wits about you keep.

Sometimes dogs will find ‘em first,

And then the chase is on,

So mad you’d think the day is cursed,

And you just want it gone.

But then some days it works so fine,

You think, wow, this is fun,

Things go smooth, you know the kind,

And you never get outrun.

And some old bull might want to fight,

You say he’s met his match,

You toss your twine, it flies just right,

To make a perfect catch.

You don’t set down but feed him slack,

And turn him when you can,

And then your brother rides in back,

And heels him like a hand,

Stretch him out and tie him down,

Ne’er man or beast got hurt,

Go get the next one to be found,

And be on the alert.

Load the ponies, head on in,

The cattle catching day,

Can tell the stories where we’ve been,

It all turned out okay.

And talk about that crazy cow,

That ran away and hid,

A long time she was lost somehow,

We don’t know how she did.

But finally we got her caught,

A story we can tell,

Cowboyed up just like we ought,

Then hauled her to the sale.

Mud and blood and flyin’ fur,

Skint up hands and cold,

Wrecks and races did occur,

Nothing if not bold.

The day will come when younger men,

Will saddle up and go,

But we’ll remember times back when,

We were the ones, you know.

And on they go, the ropin’ days,

In memory are strong,

Once out there, inside always,

And never really gone.

“Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25, NLT)

I love to think of Jesus as the “guardian of our souls.” We ran from Him, some of us far away, but He was always there. He sent people after us, not unlike the cowboys in search of lost cattle. Sometimes the race is rough and wrecks can happen. But in the end we returned to Him. Thank God! It’s a great joy and the ultimate security to be home at last. When He guards us in the home pasture we have nothing to fear.

Lord, guard us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jason Rich, used by permission. Thanks, Jason, and God bless you.