Live for Jesus!
Let me dig down in the story archives and tell you ‘bout a feller that fills the bill. Ole’ Slim worked hard all his life. All he seemed to know was punchin’ cows and fixin’ fence. Yep, he actually liked to fix fence. He’d taken his turn more than he cared to mention at an ol’ Poppin’ Johnny, a Binder, or even a Mini Mole. But he mostly cottoned to sittin’ atop his horse and lookin’ after a cow herd. He was always willing to spend extra time with the dogies and misfits in the herd. Along that same line, he always had time for a feller who was down on his luck or a kid who needed a friend.
Most folks never quite understood why he was so giving. But most folks didn’t know him like I did. Now, Slim understood a little more than what most folks gave him credit for.
Slim knew Jesus. And it didn’t take any expert to know there was just something different about Slim. He never got in trouble like a lot of cowboys would do.
Folks were sure surprised when they found out that he’d become a deacon down at the little country Baptist church. You see, most folks figure that a feller has to be a person with money and influence in order to be a deacon. They just don’t understand that a deacon is to be a servant. His main job is to help people and his heart is wrapped in Jesus. When you think about it, that description fit ole’ Slim to a tee. And just bein’ around him, you knew where his heart was. No…, Slim wasn’t one to stand up in front of people, but he would lead in prayer when called on, and he was always doing something at the church, always helpin’ folks, and he was a tither, too.
Slim lived out in the old bunkhouse. These last few years, he had it all to himself. The other cowboys all had to have their own place. We’d probably torn down that old shack if it weren’t for Slim stayin’ there. His ole ’52 multi-tone power wagon could be found right out front. He drew wages that weren’t all that great. We always wanted to do more, but we weren’t doin’ all that great, either.
But when it was all said and done and his life was over, his will was opened up and he had left it all to three different recipients. One part went to his church, another part went to a ministry for physically challenged children’s therapeutic horse riding, and the third was – well he gave to a little mission down at cowtown that was located just a short ways from the stockyards. I didn’t even know this ‘til right before his death, but he told me one day when we was checkin’ calves that he was saved at that little mission in Texas. He told me he took out another ten percent and sent it to them every month. Yeah, in his will he left nearly $35,000 to that mission alone. He sure didn’t blow his money. He could’ve bought some land or a pickup or… Anyway, that mission was fixin’ to have to close their doors, but then they received Slim’s check.
It wasn’t just that, he had left instructions to send any memorial contributions to that mission. Why there was nearly $30,000 sent by his “friends.” The stockyards ain’t really the stockyards anymore, but because of Slim and folks like him, that mission just keeps on helpin folks and leading them to Christ. Folks that receive help there today may not know one end of a cow from another, but they are gettin’ to know the same Jesus Slim knew.
I can honestly tell you that I’ve known some Slims in my life, and I’ve seen a circumstance or two similar to his, but this is just a story the writer has written of what I see as a person who lives for Christ. Folks need Jesus, it’s up to his followers to help show the way. Slim did that.
Choose Jesus, choose life and let your light shine! And find a Bible believin’ church where you “fit in” and know, grow, and follow Christ! Tell others! See y’all at church and keep PRAYIN’ for HIS HARVEST! Pray for the rain! Amen.