I Like Goats

I made a couple of new friends today: Holmes and ... typical Scott, forgot his name (Sherlock Holmes' sidekick). I call them my friends and I don't know if they would say the same since we just met but they are goats anyway ... so they'll never refute my claim that we are friends. They are white goats with the two fancy hangy down thingamabobs under their throat which makes them not only friends but really cool friends (one hangy down is cool, two is really cool).

I was thinking about them this evening and confirmed what I have known for a long time ... I like goats. I've been pondering why it is that I like them and I think there are good reasons to like a goat ... and good things to learn from them. In no particular order:

1. They aren't fussy or fancy eaters. Give a goat a choice between rich alfalfa or some dead leaves ... they'll take the leaves any day. I used to love to watch our goats in Colorado walk along on their hind legs and strip the leaves off of low branches of the trees. Thistles ... better than high dollar feed with molasses on it. I like food. I like good food (Louie's cooking in the greatest if you don't know). But keep it simple. It doesn't have to be rich, fancy, and expensive to be good. And you fussy eaters ... goats are more fun to watch!
2. They are true friends! I was telling Noelle (the young lady in charge of the goats at camp this summer), "Don't worry if one of them gets loose. they stick together." It is easy to care for them that way ... just tie one up and leave the other loose, they won't go far because their friend is important to them. I remember one of the saddest sights and sounds being when one of our nanny's died. Nanny Whiskers (her partner) stood over her and bleated out the most forlorn blats I had ever heard.
3. They live at peace. Goats don't get too worked up over much of anything. They just seem to go through the days with a blood pressure that doesn't get too wacked out. I haven't known that many goats but I don't think I've ever met one that is overly mean. Sure, a billy can get a little fiesty but what male can't? They just don't seem to have a lot of enemies and find life ok.
4. They don't take life too seriously. Watching a goat for a while almost always brings a smile. I remember watching our goats climb up on top of visitor's cars when we had them loose in Grover. It wasn't funny because they can sure scratch the paint ... but it was funny! There's nothing better than a couple of kid goats playing and bucking and butting heads and climbing all over their poor mama and using her for a trampoline. No ... goats don't take life too seriously. They are always ready for some fun, a little mischief, a new adventure.
5. Goats aren't perfect. Yes, another reason I like them. Sometimes they can be so stubborn that I want to beat them. They eat Lou's flowers which is really not a good thing. As I said, they can be destructive to ... well, just about anything they are around. Billy's have some really nasty habits that we won't go into on this family rated blog. Yep. Imperfect as can be. So are you. So am I.

If you don't have any goat friends, I'm sorry (you can come visit Holmes and ... his buddy). I think God smiled when he made them and I think there are some good lessons in life to learn from them. So, go climb on top of somebodies car and eat their windshield wipers!

Rain

I stood under the overhang of Lakeview Lodge and watched the rain come down this morning. It wasn't exactly the morning that the 256 guests would hope for as they gathered for breakfast. The comments were pretty typical. "I wish it would stop raining." "This stinks, where's the sunshine." and similar remarks.

As I looked out from my sheltered spot I watched the rain roll off the roof and onto the hanging baskets full of geraniums. They were blooming and beautiful as they drank in the moisture. I looked across the camp at the lush, thick undergrowth, the grass, the towering white pines, and the trees that are too numerous to count. Without the rain ... the flowers die, the grass in this fragile environment quickly shrivels, and there wouldn't be any of the majestic forest that is so special at Big Sandy Camp.

We don't like hardship in life. We don't like to struggle to pay the bills, work hard to raise our kids, and oh how we hate that common cold or even moreso the cancer. And yet the things we grumble about the most are often rain. We long for sunshine. We like our lives to be 75 degrees, low humidity, and not a cloud in the sky. But rain ... it brings life. It causes flowers to burst forth. It is necessary for an abundant life (John 10:10).

Think of those dear people that have come into your life who have struggled deeply and have kept the faith. Their flowers are brighter, their grass greener, their trees more spectacular because they have had rain. Some of my richest memories are with dear saints who were in their final days. Their temporal bodies were often wasted and shriveled but they were flowers that were brilliant and sweet ... for they had been in the rain.

Next time it rains ... leave the umbrella inside, run through the puddles, and dance ... for your God has sent the rain.