I attended four different schools during my 8th and 9th grade school years. During my 8th grade year in school, I fell in with some kids that were poor role models. They were the only kids who were friendly to me. Due to their influence, I ended up taking two trips to juvenile hall and had an encounter with a very large officer screaming at me in the scared straight program. I needed a change.
ve us back home to Oregon where my grandparents lived in the country. We found a place that was within walking distance from their house. My grandfather was a rancher/farmer. He lived the western lifestyle, with horses, cows, sheep and fighting cocks. I was told the only place I could hang out was at his ranch. He was older and took life kind of slow, but he became my hero.
It wasn’t long before he had me doing all aspects of ranch work. He taught me to ride, buck hay, fix fence, start colts, work cattle and handle the fighting cocks. He walked with a limp from a team logging accident, back in the ‘30s, and when we walked somewhere I limped too. I wanted to be just like him. He never told me how or what I needed to change about myself. He just took me with him everywhere he went. I just did what he did.
He was very well liked and respected by the neighbors and local ranchers. One day we went to the local cattle auction to buy a cheap horse for me to break. As we were getting a seat in the old auction barn he was speaking and greeting all his friends and good ol’ boys. One of the ranchers asked who that young man was with him. After turning to look at me he nodded and said “That’s my foreman.” My heart soared! My life was changing because of him.
In the New Testament, Jesus asks those who would become his disciples to follow him and they did. He didn’t tell them what to change in their life. We have made a relationship with Him too difficult. He just wants us to follow Him and learn from Him. We do that by reading His word and being with others who follow Him. We worship and praise Him in everything around us. We thank Him, that we can ride and rope, and for the lifestyle we live. Just like my grandfather’s role model that changed my life, let Jesus be the role model in your life.
Thank you for your comments and prayer requests. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.