I Should Have Been a Cowboy

At least that what Toby Keith sings. 

“I should’ve learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl’s hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
I should’ve been a cowboy

I might of had a side kick with a funny name
Running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James
Ending up on the brink of danger
Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers
Go west young man, haven’t you been told
Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars
With a dream in my eye and a prayer in my heart”

That song takes me back to my boyhood days when we lived up in Eureka and the redwood forests were my playground.  We watched all of the movies with Roy Rogers, Rocky Lane, Bob Steele, Bill Cody, Gene Autry, Hoot Gibson, the Lone Ranger, Lash La Rou, Randolph Scott, Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, and of course the ultimate cowboy John Wayne. The list goes on and on.  Every Saturday we would walk to town and watch a double feature of the Western movies for 35 cents. We got our popcorn in cereal type boxes, and during the intermission, we would fold them up flat and throw them like Frisbees.  They were flying all over the theater like space ships fighting some crazed battle in the dark of the some cartoon interlude between features.  Needless to say, I was hooked.

Jan and I began serving in our first church up in the hills above Bakersfield.  It was a little old western town called Kernville, where people would retire out of the busy cities of LA.  It was certainly in vogue to wear hats and boots.  I wasted no time.  I loved it!  And it came with a lot of nostalgia for me.  Sometimes I feel like I should have been born back in the mid-19^th century as a circuit riding preacher like the famous Peter Cartwright.

There is nothing that can match the dreams and imaginations of childhood.

We grow up having big romantic plans for our lives. Most of the time those childhood dreams morph into something more realistic.  After all, those heroic movies of the Texas rangers were fantasies.  It was really never that glorious, or heroic, or exciting as Hollywood made them.

But if you love the great outdoors, and can see yourself in mountains riding a horse down the canyon with beautiful stream bubbling beside, you just might have a bit of the western spirit in your heart.  Cowboys loved the idea of freedom and the opportunity to do whatever they wanted. “Don’t tie me down” with a lot of laws and regulations.  They liked making their own rules.

They had a fondness for excitement and danger.  They liked the open land and the beauty of nature. They loved their horses and a good saddle. They were attracted to the pristine wilderness and it became a favorite wandering place.  They didn’t like to be fenced in, just give them the freedom to roam.

If you can identify with these things, you just might be a cowboy at heart.

 

I believe that God loves those beautiful dreams of childhood. And I do believe that if we are following His pathway for our lives, sometimes, those dreams come into reality in one way or another.

 

Psalm 37 contains a great promise to those who choose God’s pathway for their lives.

3      Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4      Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5      Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6      He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

 

When we allow God to take over our lives, and we begin to live in His desired pathway for us, His love has a way of intertwining some of our own dreams into His Divine plan for us.  He delights in our joy and happiness.

Many people are afraid to turn the lives over to the control of God, for fear of what their life might be like if they have to follow His leading, and submit to His rules of the road.  I want to assure you from my own personal experience, that in following God, you will have some of the greatest adventures of your life.  Far beyond your wildest dreams of childhood.

Give it a try.  You just might discover the greatest Joy of your life.

Nothing can compete with or even begin to come close to God’s dream and vision for us.  You will be amazed.

 

Riding down the canyon, Pastor Mike