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May 27, 2022

 

Spring on the drove has brought about many wonderful things. We have seen the birth of 6 baby goats. Y’all, I am officially a crazy goat momma. I absolutely love, love, love the goating. We have put in a large garden and here we are in late May already yielding some crop and there is fruit on the vine! Whew, I know there is something more to that message that God is working out within me, because even as I type those words I can feel the stir in my spirit letting me know that I have yet to hear the last of that line. The same thing happened around this time last year, the Lord spoke to me regarding the promise found in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and the fact that I could claim that promise over us and our land, and here I am seeing the fruition (no pun intended) of that very promise. When you have time give it a read and know that when God whispers something in your spirit He means it, and He is always faithful to deliver.

 

We have recently moved our Billy goats to a new field for three reasons, one - the donkey needs some company, two – the Billys need some coverage, and three – the weeds need some eating. Basically, there has been a relocation for the purposes of companionship, coverage, and clearance. Shortly after moving them, Lee realized that the fencing would need a little reinforcing to make sure that the gentlemen did not push their way out and access the field containing the garden. The grass is always greener, right? Seems their little goat brains have quickly forgotten that just a few weeks earlier, at the cry of a fox, they found themselves scampering to Louise for the coverage they knew she would offer. My, my how easily distracted they become by things that look enticing without any thought to the enemies lurking about should they go wandering. Sound familiar? I know it sure does hit home for me. I can’t tell you the number of times in a month, week, or day that Jesus has to slap me upside the head and remind me to keep my eyes fixed on what is right within my own pasture and the coverage He has provided for me there. Boundaries are so important for so many reasons.

 

A few nights ago, Rocky – our blue tick hound, had a little encounter with a four-wheeler. Which mind you, has been an accident waiting to happen since he is slow to learn that chasing after certain things is not very wise. Hmmm, again……I get it. Anyway, he wasn’t seriously injured just a little sore. Probably a slight wounding of both the back leg and the puppy pride. A few hours after the incident, he decided to run off when they were being put up for the night. At this point I’m thinking, “Ok dude, seriously? Do you not ever learn?” The number of possible bad to worse case scenarios waiting for you out there are high, not to mention that if Bob catches you quickly, you are for sure getting “the hat” (a doggy reprimand round The Drove).

 

Well Bob did not catch him quickly and a search party ensued. Bob, Chris, Taylor, and Jess hopped on various ATVs and headed out. As they searched for hours, I sat praying for their success and safety as they combed the woods at night. Finally, after a few adventurous moments and mounting hours, they conceded; knowing that he was still in the area, they decided to shut it down in hopes that he would make his way home when he was ready to stop roaming around in the dark. Wooooo weeee – I was being hammered by the imagery that all of this was smacking me in the face with.

 

During my time of prayer over them I was given a firsthand application of the parable of the lost sheep found in Matthew 18 and Luke 15. In case you are unfamiliar, the story tells of the shepherd who goes in search of the 1 lost sheep leaving the 99 others who are in safety behind while he searches. I obviously found myself thanking God for the many, many times that He chases after us as we wander around in the dark because he loves and cares for us so much; even when we run off while He is calling our name. I also considered the point in which He backs off and says, “Ok – go ahead and wander. I will be here waiting to take you back in, and possibly bandage you up, when you return - likely dragging your tail behind you” (PP – Presson Paraphrase version). Those are things I have thought about before, but the personal application was sort of a next level meditation.

 

The other thing that kept occurring to me was the fact that I was devoting a good bit of a night praying, seeking, and meditating over a prodigal pup. Lawdy, lawdy the stirring in my soul that arose and prompted me to come before the Lord regarding the many, many “prodigal pups” along my life path. My kiddos were out combing the woods for their dog, because they love him and don’t want to see him lost or wounded. I was home praying and pondering, because I too didn’t want to see him lost or wounded but, even more so, because I didn’t want to see them grieving and wounded over the loss of him. When I considered that I felt this way over my kids and their love for a pup that was wandering and then compared that to Jesus and his love for his children who are wandering. I fell on my face! Literally.

 

Why? because I was so convicted by the thought that if nothing else, I should love Him enough to not want to see Him grief stricken and suffering over the loss of His children. I did a self-check and considered where I am when it comes to covering folks. Thing is, I spend hours a night in prayer, so maybe I could feel ok about my personal contribution. I pray over much and many whom I love and talk things out with Jesus, but what struck me is that I pray for those I love when I should also be praying for those HE loves. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the WORLD”. That means just what is says – THE WORLD. That includes the believers who are striving and walking, the believers who are struggling and crawling, the believers who are presently wallowing in the mud, and….the lost – the nonbelievers who are lost and wandering, the ones who are living like the devil, the ones who are marked and marred with sin to the point of bare recognition. The prostitute, the drug addict, the gang banger, the murderer, the hypocrite, the slanderer, the haughty, the arrogant, the abuser, the abused – THE WORLD.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying condone sin. I’m not saying love the deeds. The lines are thin between walking in grace and walking in truth, but when walking with our will surrendered to that of the Father we will find ourselves most often walking in truth with grace and above all walking in love. Why, because “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8), but perhaps even more importantly is because we love The One who loves them. So even on the days, or in the moments, when I cannot bring myself to feel like praying for so and so or such and such because I am so frustrated or disgusted or wounded by what they have done or are doing, I can remind myself that the same God who pulls me out of the pit longs to pull them out. That the love that He has for me, He also has for them, and that it is but by His grace that I am not suffering through what they are and because I love Him, I can love them or at the very least pray over them.

 

I am a champion of the underdog and those who know me will likely attest to the fact that loving the tough to love isn’t foreign to me. It is who I am created to be. It is my call, especially when it comes to young folks. My grandfather used to tell me that when it came to the possibility of being snowballed, or taken advantage of, or treaded slightly upon, that he would rather “err on the side of love, because what folks did with that was on them and at the end of the day [He] knew Jesus would prefer a heart of love to a hardened one”. He was right and I now want to add to that, that such love should spur us to pray in earnest for one another as well as the world, and so I am committing to adding time spent in my prayer closet to the lost and broken whom I don’t know and ask that you join me.

 

It is my heart to ask that you spend extensive time in prayer over the youth and younger generation. That they might find both freedom and healing in the name of Jesus and that those who love Jesus might be so inclined to shoulder up with them as they seek such.

Until next time, may we meet up in the Throne Room as we offered up our praise and petitions there.

 

~ Jen