Monday, April 13, 2009

Grass to Milk

This story is about a field trip I took with my daughter two years ago while we lived in Indiana.
I went on a field trip with my daughter the other day. We went to a dairy farm called, Fair Oaks. At first in the midst of about forty or so third graders on a school bus, my thought was….why did I do this to myself? After arriving and beginning the tour I was so glad I went. It was very interesting how they could make cows such a fascinating topic. Did you know that many great scientists have tried to make milk out of grass and have failed, but the cow knows how? The whole grass to milk concept never occurred to me, but then again a lot of things just don’t occur to me.

Anyways, we got to go on this bio-free bus tour and actually drove right through the middle of two different cow barns. Then the bus pulled into the milking barn. We walked up the stairs to a huge window that looked down on a rotating circle of 72 cows and then watched a short clip about what happens which we can’t see as the cows move slowly around the circle. It takes about 8 minutes for them to go around the moving carousel and be milked and they do this three times a day.

However, the most interesting thing that intrigued me and many of the children was, without any prodding the cows walked onto the carousel and backed themselves off when they rotated all the way around. How in the world did they know to get on and off, for Pete’s sake they’re a cow! The tour guide said that the cow is a “creature of habit”. In 72 hours the cow learns all he needs to and just does it. Yowzer, I thought to myself! It was just amazing to watch these cows back in and out at precisely the right time again and again and again.

I drifted off in a daydream state for a few moments as some of the other children continued to ask questions. I asked myself, “Why can’t we be the same “creatures of habit” when it comes to our daily devotion to the Lord? I mean really, I was looking at cows. I only found a few references to cows in my Bible…Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis, two references were about sea cows native to the Red Sea for the hides, and the last one in I Samuel which they hitched two cows to a cart. I’m thinking cows aren’t to smart and haven’t invented much….oh yea….grass to milk….forgot already!

Lord help me this day to be more devoted to you. Help me to thirst for you and long and desire to sit at thy feet when the sun rises and the night time falls. Let me listen to the soft whispers of the Holy Spirit when he beckons me to walk awhile with you. Help me to be a “creature of habit” longing for what only you can give! Amen.

1 comment:

mrsforeman said...

I love your blog. Such insight can only come from God himself.