Ya "Herd"???

Isn’t funny how tiny, seemingly insignificant details can bring an entire project, plan, or vision to a screeching halt? When a situation like this occurs, I’m reminded of a story one of my high school buds, Andy, told me. Between high school and college, he spent some time working on a ranch in Wyoming. He had a streak of cowboy that he had to get out of his system before settling into college life. He says that experience changed his life and recommends it to any high school senior.

A big part of his job was to move cattle from one field to another about once a week. This job is a pretty stressful one if the cattle won’t cooperate. You can plan the best way to move the cattle, but you have to keep in mind that the animals have minds of their own. If they want to go left, they go left. If they want to stop, they stop. Basically, in this situation, your plan is only as good as the cattle’s cooperation. What really counts here is how you react to the diversion.

On one particular part of the trail from one field to the other, there is a one lane road lined by a fence on either side. The cattle can walk down the road side by side in two large single file lines. The plan on this part of the trail is to lead the herd from behind. If you keep the cattle in the back moving, technically, each animal in front of the other will keep moving. Sounds simple, right? One day, this plan was literally brought to a halt when the cattle suddenly stopped. The entire herd wouldn’t budge, no matter how stern or determined the driver was. Since the road was straight and virtually clear for miles, there was no plausible explanation why the entire herd would just stop. Frustrated and confused, Andy jumped down from his horse, hopped one of the fences on the side of the road and walked toward the front of the herd.

What he found left him scratching his head…..

Sitting in the middle of the road, keeping an entire herd from moving forward to their goal, was an empty milk jug. The cattle were terrified of it. They wouldn’t go near it. The cattle driver’s plan was totally foiled by an empty milk jug. Andy kicked the jug out of the road and the cattle moved right along. From horseback, the path looked totally clear. Even if he knew the jug was going to be there, he would never have guessed it would stop an entire herd of cattle from moving forward.

Sometimes our big plans look great and then they are stopped by tiny details. Don’t panic when this happens. We can’t perfectly plan for situations that we don’t have complete control over. If God has given you a specific vision, don’t give up when you run into a wall. Stay focused on that vision and ask God to intervene and clear your path.