It's hot and dry and the fences are down and the cows are out pretty much everywhere. It's this time of year that reminds you that pretty much all of Texas is considered open range, including a lot of downtowns. Downtown Ft. Worth has a cattle drive twice a day, and if you hit a cow on just about any Texas Main Street, you'll be paying to fix your own front end, because the law says it's not the rancher's fault, because you killed his cow, you maniac.
Yesterday we had just set out from the gate on our walk when a steer from the neighboring pasture challenged the dogs and me, (the way teenagers of all species will do), so I called My Gift From God (a/k/a Chris) to drive out in the truck and herd him back to his pasture. I would not long survive in the country without a champion.
This morning we were further along when I saw several black creatures running back and forth across the dirt road about a half a mile away. Unlike the other day, I did remember to wear my contacts, but even assisted eyesight has it’s limits, and I couldn't tell what they were. It was early in the morning, and this road has very little traffic. This time of day I'm always on the lookout for wild creatures on their way to get their morning drink. It's not good to meet a pack of coyotes when I'm out with dogs that look a lot like breakfast burritos.
Occasionally we also have herds of wild pigs, which are about the same size as the dogs, but a whole lot meaner. The first - and last - thing my dogs would think would be, "Hey, look, they're our size and we can take them!"
While I was deciding whether or not to turn back to save us all from a grisly death, a bicyclist stopped to ask me if I knew whose cows those were all over the road behind him.
Sometimes cows are aggressive like the steer, but that's because the steer was a stupid kid. Cows are ordinarily docile animals. Lounging in the shade on a 100° day is the height of bovine achievement. And yet, as creatures go, cows are pretty near perfect.
First, they exist just for us. Hindusism and PETA notwithstanding, a standalone cow has no function or task, except to eat, sleep, create other cows, be tormented by flies, eat grass and emit methane. If human beings don't supplement grass with hay in the winter, they will starve. They are not hunters, they are prey. They are defended from coyotes by donkeys half their size, for cryin' out loud. That's embarrassing! Cows do not exist for one another, except to make really cute babies. A herd of cows is just that - a herd, not a community.
But for humans, cows provide milk to strengthen our bones and our teeth; butter to make everything taste better; ice cream to make us happy; piano keys so we can have Beethovens and Rachmaninoffs; insulin for diabetics and sutures for surgeons; cold tongue sandwiches for French chefs; gelatin for jello for little kids and marshmallow s'mores for everyone. Beef byproducts make car tires run cooler and bind the asphalt in the roadways; they're in fireworks on the 4th of July; in clothing, shoes and furniture; even in hand cream, toothbrushes and lipstick so we can get married and have more human babies. And oh,, yeah, in the hungriest parts of the world cows plow the fields so human can grow more food and grind the grain after it's harvested.
God created cows perfectly. They fulfill exactly their reason for their existence by serving humanity in a myriad of ways. Cows have found the meaning of life: Living the best way you can, to be the best you can be for others.
For humans, the Bible calls this sanctification. Becoming more like God – the One who really is perfect – the One who is perfectly good – the One who has poured his existence into our well-being, by being the Best God There Is, so we can pour ourselves into others so they - and we - can be the Best Human Beings There Are.
No wonder that when the Hebrews made an idol in the wilderness they made a golden calf. It was as close to perfect as they could get. So the next time you take a walk in a new pair of shoes, or drink a glass of milk, or eat a burger do it with a heart full of gratitude to God and his cows, and be reminded to live more cow-y.
"The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works." Psalm 145:15-17
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