Grabbing the Bull By the Horns

Grabbing the Bull By the Horns!

By Vickie G. Paver

It was early spring when Abigail looked out the window and saw that Ferdinand, the Great, their prized yearling bull was loose! Abigail yelled to her husband that Ferdinand was loose. She ran to the barn and got a rope. Since the young bull was grazing on the lawn, she felt she could just approach him gradually, put the rope over his neck and take him to the barn. Easy as pie! Right? WRONG!

When Abigail's husband joined her, he helped get the rope around the bull's neck. Her husband thought that a bucket of grain would easily persuade the young bull to follow them to the barn. Before her husband could get to the barn to get the grain, Abigail was on her way with the bull. She thought no big deal! She didn't need the grain! After all he was very gentle for a bull. So she ignored her husband's idea about the grain. Suddenly, in the middle of Abigail's thoughts, Ferdinand, the Great bolted! He didn't want to go to the barn! He ran in the opposite direction. Even though he was a yearling bull he was strong and managed to yank Abigail to the ground! She hit with a thud! Before she could get the rope off of her hand he had dragged her several feet! Not only did she have the wind knocked out of her, but she also had skinned knees and rope burns on her hands! She caught her breath and checked for broken bones. As she sat up she knew she should have listened to her husband!

Abigail slowly picked herself up off the ground and then grew angry and yelled, "Ferdinand! You are going to the butcher shop!" Her husband was standing in the doorway staring at her as if to say, "You just had to do it your way, didn't you?" When he saw that she was okay, he took the grain bucket and went after Ferdinand. The bull followed her husband to the barn with no trouble! Once the bull was in his pen, Abigail's husband gave her a lecture about handling bulls. "You don't just grab a bull by the horns!" She knew it was the wrong approach with Ferdinand and just listened to the lecture. The situation deserved a more cautious approach. Abigail's approach of "grabbing the bull by the horns," was NOT the correct way!

Not only had Abigail learned a lesson about bulls that day, but she also got a spiritual lesson out of it! She thought about the many times that she had jumped ahead of the Lord and "grabbed the bull by the horns", when in reality she should have waited for the Lord's direction. Whenever she ran ahead of the Lord she always suffered some kind of consequences. Learning that you cannot approach life by force is always a tough lesson. God, in His mercy, let Abigail learn another valuable lesson without her being seriously injured.

James 1: 2-4; 2. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

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