There is a song that came out when I was in high school and a portion of the lyrics went like this;
"The Stockyards, it's my backyard. That's where I grew up...."
Being the accidentally sheltered kid I was, the only "stockyards" I knew were sale barns (or cattle auctions). Before my dad bought a sale barn, I was raised sitting in the ring next to Dad or Papa and hauled a lot of cattle in the "big truck" with Dad.
The first time I heard this I thought, "oh, they must be sale barn kids too!" Never thinking they were talking about Ft. Worth. If I would have paid more attention to lyrics, I probably would have picked up on the fact that they were not talking about running a sale barn.
But our childhood wasn't just the sale barn, it was surrounded by family that were all involved in agriculture - one way or another. I have very vivid memories of all the Easter's unloading horses at the Lazy E or "The Ranch" my Papa and Dad leased.
Let's step outside....when I say Easters, I mean ALL of the Easters. This means not only my immediate family, but cousins, uncles, second cousins, great uncles, great aunts, aunts, etc. Some had the different last names but they all branched from 'The Easters'.
Back inside and to the Lazy E. The amount of hours we spent calling cows, working cows, sorting cows, riding horses, breaking horses, 4-H, FFA, growing a garden, chickens, bottle feeding calves, the list really goes on. I honestly didn't know much of a world outside of church, school, sports, family and the ranch.
Enter the college years. I remember those first few weeks on the Texas A&M campus I felt like I was a caged animal. Everyone moving fast, so loud, and zero space to be and feel free. I eventually settled into the routine at Mays Business School and thus began a long journey of slowly working my way into traveling the world, learning new cultures, and eventually found my into boardrooms.
I am thankful for the opportunities, the education, and the people I have met along the way. But there was always a draw back and a longing for long, hot days working with our family, the quiet, cool stillness right before dusk or dawn when you are sure there will be scenes like this in heaven, the steady bawling of a momma cow and her calf, the nicker of horses letting you know they're ready for breakfast when you are.
When I would find myself hustling from the gym, to a meeting, to phone call, to email, back to another meeting, to putting out a fire, to running kids around town and perfecting the efficiency of my schedule down to the minute, then my sister would send me a picture of her horseback or a video of her tracing the horizon of wide open spaces. My heart would be reminded of Genesis and think - this kind of hustle can't be how God intended life to be.
See, I think people in ag; cowboys, cattlemen/women and farmers get to see and live a life that is so similar to how intended us to live. Connected to nature in every way. If they have a relationship is Jesus, they get an even the added benefit of walking with Jesus daily while tending to his creation, the opportunity to be in total fellowship with the Prince of Peace everyday tending to the world He created just for us. To nurture, to explore, to face the unexpected challenges of that day with the King of Kings, to learn more about Him through the things He created.
As much as I longed for home, the hard headed side of me wouldn't let go of the path I was on. As life threw twist and turns, unplanned events landed me back home and back at the barn that help raised us kids.
So as I settle back into this season of life surrounded by family, the familiar noises, the long days, the challenges of weather, poor dirt, and economics, I have a deeper appreciation for the simple things. The things that really calm my soul.
I know we need all kinds of jobs, people and vocations to keep the world going around. There are MANY conveniences and MANY food choices that I miss very much. I may even end up back in steady stream of boardrooms again one day, but for now, I am enjoying a bit of distance from the boardroom and being back at the barn.