Photo byRoksolana ZasiadkoonUnsplash
Are ya hit?
This beautiful May weather is just the thing for those of us who dip back into remembrances of yesteryear. It was always the month of May when you could go barefoot and play outside later and later, when the summer clothes came out and the winter clothes went into hiding (only to be too small for you to wear the following fall), when flowers and birds and butterflies made life just too beautiful to mention. Ah, the memories of May!
As a child, I was always a tomboy. I loved climbing trees, playing cowboys, being around the horses. One thing I loved most was watching “my” cowboys come on TV. Those were the good old days—the days of Roy Rogers… Paladin… the Cisco Kid… Sky King… The Lone Ranger! Man, I could play cowboys all day! One of my biggest dreams was to look out my bedroom window and see all my cowboys come riding down the road to my house! Wow, that was exciting! What a daydream!
One phrase I know well from my six-gun toting days was the question, “Are ya hit?” We’d be slapping leather, shooting, running, and someone would hit the ground. We’d grab him and drag him to safety. Then the question, “Are ya hit?” Usually, because no one wanted to die and not be able to ride and shoot and rope again, the answer was, “Yeah, he grazed me. Let me at ’im; I’ll get that scoundrel!” Of course the grazed one would tie a bandana around an arm and soon be off and running and going as hard as the rest of the gang. Invisible bullets don’t hurt too much.
How is your game of life going? Are you running and riding and roping as hard as you can in your adult life as we did in our childhood play? Are you finding that some bullets and arrows in actual life hurt a good deal more than the invisible ones of yesteryear? Well, when you don’t particularly feel like saying, “He grazed me. Let me at ‘im; I’ll get that scoundrel!” When you’d rather just say, “Yeah, I’m hit. Now go away and let me die.” That’s when you need to remember one thing. (Yep, it’s another old saying I like!)
“It is only at a tree loaded with fruit that men throw stones.” Are you bearing much fruit, fruit that will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord? Sometimes it would be easier to hide our fruit and not stand out so much. Maybe no one would notice, and then the stones and arrows and bullets would not fly our way. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t say, “Yea, he got me, pal,” and die off. You’re created to bear fruit for the Lord. Bear it proudly. Keep your eyes fastened on the goal and bear all the fruit you can. God will keep track of the stones and arrows and bullets. Keep your eyes on Him and bear fruit for Him. And maybe one day, we will see Him with all His “cowboys” returning on the clouds, riding white horses, and we’ll have a dream come true!
Now ask yourself — “Have I been hit lately?” Maybe you ought to check out your fruit. Are ya hit?
Blessings for a beautiful month of May.
Lura (Katy) Houk