Growing up on a cattle ranch taught me a lot about life, people, and God. Although I still have a lot to learn, I submit to you 10 life lessons gleaned from my ranch archives.
- Creation is God’s altar. Don’t forget to worship.
- God speaks in the storm as well as the breeze. Listen and learn.
- Don’t drink from the cattle trough, and don’t mess with the bull.
- A cow path is the shortest and easiest distance from here to there, but you’ll miss a lot of adventure if you follow the cow path.
- Never kick a cow chip on a hot day, and don’t throw one at your brother.
- Don’t make a pet of something you plan to eat.
- Avoid egg fights in the barn when dressed in your Sunday best.
- Don’t interfere with a critter if he isn’t bothering you.
- You can’t tell how good a man or watermelon is until they get thumped.
- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Any bits of life wisdom you’d like to share in the comment section below?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
This Post Has 4 Comments
Never wake a sleeping baby… and along those same lines, sleep when the baby sleeps! I think those bits of advice have maintained my sanity for several years!
Remember when you think that the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it takes a lot of manure to get it that way.
One more drawback to staying on the cow trails is that you can’t enjoy the view when you’re trying to avoid cow pies.
Oh my, so true, Daniella. I learned that one years ago raising 6 babies. Debbie–love the manure add-on to an old proverb. Very funny!
My friend, Maureen, emailed me with the following comment. (Printed here with her permission.)
Oh Susan,
The picture of the Hereford took me back to my childhood. My father, and his family, were in the cattle business. My grandfather was a butcher who could carry a side of beef on shoulder. The family had a ‘slaughter house’- ohhhh.
As a child I would go with my dad to local sales yards and auctions to buy cattle. And, from an early age, I observed the process of the ‘killing floor’. Such a strange experience for a child. Not sure what to do with all that-
I loved your life lessons. I will have to think of some of my own.
I did have a dream after my grandmother Vera died. She was dressed in the beautiful American Beauty rose dress from her 85th b-day party, and later her funeral. She looked at me and told me that if she could do it over again, she would ‘eat all those gooshy (sp?) deserts’ she liked.
thank you for the memories and life lessons!
love m