Shortly after Tim and I were engaged, he got a job overseeing two different hog buildings. Now, me growing up in Cedar Falls and being a city girl, I thought it would be fun to feed the cute little baby pigs. I would help Tim here and there with chores but, those cute little pigs turned in to 300 pound hogs that we had to load on to semis and at that point…those pigs….not so cute! 

Tim later found a foreclosed acreage with a calf building and bought it. After we had been married for a few years, he got the calf barn up and running. We have had our own cattle operation ever since. I thought cows would be so much cuter than pigs, and smell better so this will definitely be a lot more fun. Again, I found out cows are actually not the smartest animals….or that much fun!

I have helped Tim out as much as I can in between my own job, the kids and on days my health allows it. Today was one of those days where I knew he needed help doing a few jobs in the building so I had been prepping myself all day for when that time came. 

I will spare details, but these are not fun jobs, jobs that Tim felt kind of embarrassed doing in front of me when we first got the business running. I was experiencing a whole new life….a much harder life….country life! But, I wouldn’t change it for the world!

As I was helping Tim today, my allergic reaction to cows kicked in probably at the worst time possible. I continued to sneeze and sniffle while my eyes watered, wondering why I was doing this. I’m wearing a heart monitor, I’m allergic to cows yet here I am getting up close and personal. A lot of my family and friends question why I do this, why I put myself in such a position…or even how I can do this. I often share very minimal details with them yet the awkward silence still follows, indicating they want to say more, but don’t. I have sensed that they think I’m crazy for helping Tim, or that Tim forces me to help him but the simple fact is, we are married, we are in this together so if he needs help, I’m going to help him. Plain and simple.

So, today as I was watching Tim work, I couldn’t help but think of the sermon we heard in church this morning. We heard the story about how Jesus washed each and every one of his disciple’s feet…the week before he was going to be crucified. The fact that Jesus stooped down, to wash their feet, a slave job, to some of those who stole from Him and who would betray Him….that is the true example of love and Humility! 

A great saying today was “God can ask us to do anything, because He already did everything for us”! 

As I’m sneezing and starting to feel pretty miserable, and as Tim is getting dirty and frustrated, I brought up the sermon and we both laughed. We once again found ourselves in a position where we could relate to what the pastor was saying. Pastor Chip had said because Jesus did everything for us, that there was nothing too low or too painful that Jesus could ask us to do in order to serve, and in that moment, Tim and I felt we were the prime example for that! 

We were able to finish the job and while my eyes are still a little puffy and I continue to sneeze, I am surprised to say that my heart monitor did not go off at all while in the cow nursery! 

I am extremely proud of how hard my husband works, and how he does some of the not so pretty tasks of his job. I don’t like that he sometimes feels ashamed or embarrassed to talk about his job because he has no reason to feel that way. Livestock is a difficult and time consuming job that takes a lot of hard work and determination. 

“Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”. I am thankful for Tim’s dedication to his job, and for introducing me to an amazing new way of living! Funny how cows can put a new perspective on things and truly be a blessing 😉