Stuck in the Fence

 I saved a goat today. Our neighbor has several goats that daily graze behind our back yard and to the east of us. Today while reading my Bible, I could hear some bleating (which is the sound a goat makes when it's crying; very different from the "baa" they greet me with when they want me to give them a leafy branch or bread). I looked outside, and at first thought they all looked okay, but I quickly realized one was struggling. This goat had gotten his head stuck in a wire square between two fences. The saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence," is true of these goats; they are always checking out what is in our yard. Reaching for a tall weed on our side, his horns had trapped him in that wire square. And he could not wiggle free. So I threw on some shoes and ran out there in my jammies to see if I could help. As soon as I got to him, he twisted more fiercely in fear, but nothing was working. I wondered how I would be able to guide his head back out, then I decided to just grab his horns and tilt his head inward toward his side of the fence so he could pull his head back. So I did just that and he was free in seconds. I clapped and shouted "Yay!" as he leapt away from the fence, then said, "I hope I didn't hurt you." He turned quickly and looked at me in surprise (as much surprise as a goat can express) almost as if to say, "I can't believe that worked. I hated that, but this is better."

My husband was walking at the time, and when he got back I told him the story. He instantly said, "That's a blog. Actually that could be a whole sermon." I blog, he preaches. It took me a second, but understood what he was thinking. Basically because we are that goat right now.

The goat was in a challenging situation. And he was stuck but good. And the only way to get loose was for me to put the goat in an even more challenging, more uncomfortable, possibly painful situation in order to free him. And that is exactly where God has us right now. We are in a challenging situation. And it is hard. And to get out of this situation, we are being uncomfortably forced in a direction we did not expect. It is painful. It is not easy. It is not where we thought it would go. It honestly feels like God's got a hold of us and twisting us in an awkward way to force us in a different direction. And we can only hope that once free of it, we'll turn to look at our Father with the same surprised look of "Wow, I can't believe that worked. I hated that, but this is better ...and thank you." His Word confirms it:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Cor. 4:17

I heard a couple of parents in an interview recently respond to the question, "What would you wish for your children?" to which one responded, "That they would have challenges to make them better people." At first listen, I was thinking, "Yikes, challenges?" but quickly realized she was right. It's not our successes that make us better; it's our challenges. They are never fun when you're in the midst of them. Often times they are painful and hard to see a clear path through. But God has used His word and the encouragement of friends to guide us through it. Praise God for those who uplift us when we are incapable ourselves.

So I may have saved a goat today, but God in His divine wisdom through my husband's sweet metaphorical look at the situation gave us a lesson to encourage us both. So while the we're still in the horns-held, forced-twist right now, we know things are going to be better on the other side. Praising Him that He has us firmly in His grip.