Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Being Oblivious


There are so many things I could say about this picture.

For a few weeks now, I've been bottle feeding a little orphan calf. His name is Damit. I have bottle fed many an orphan in my life and he is, by far, the most irritating but also the most hilarious and fun. He doesn't seem to mind the fact that he gets on everybody's nerves. Even the goats have taken to sleeping right outside the pen, while Damit has run of the whole thing. When the weather dipped down in the teens, they were all forced to bunk together. The goats didn't like it. Damit did.

Until this morning, Damit would stay behind as the goats headed out to graze. He decided to go along today and I really don't think I could have been more amused by the whole thing. He scampers and kicks almost like a baby goat would. This causes the goats to dart away from him and act as if they are far superior beings. They turn up their noses and prance off. In my head they have british accents and say things like, "how rude" and "well, I never". Poor Damit doesn't even know he is being snubbed, he just follows along enthusiastically. Being oblivious has it's good points. When you're oblivious, you can be in the middle of the ugliest of situations and wear a smile. Ignorance is bliss, yes indeed.

You can also see the third species in the herd, the cat. There are two of these calico girls and, most of the time, they hang with the goats. For whatever reason, they've been accepted into the herd and are tolerated well by those silly old goats.

The dynamic between multiple species in a group is not only amusing, but inspiring. If the beasts of the field can live together in harmony, even when they don't like each other much...it amazes me that well-educated, civilized human beings are still fighting with each other over silly things like the color of our skin. I hear the voice of Rodney King in my head at times, "can we all just get along?" It's such a simple question with such a simple, yet complex answer. Let's all be nice, shall we? Let's think of the needs of others before we consider our own selves. Why don't we all become a little more oblivious and childlike and quit trying to always be RIGHT. Can't we stop and help a neighbor, give somebody a ride, say a prayer for an enemy. I used to call myself "color blind" when it came to racism. People are people and we are all God's children. But then I decided that I didn't want to be color blind, I want to be "color BLESSED". I'm thankful that God made a variety of people. We are all so diverse and there is a reason for that. Thank goodness we aren't all red-headed, freckled faced farmers.

I read something in my new study bible. It was a list of the people that Jesus touched, talked to or interacted with...and here it is.

A despised tax collector
An insane hermit
The Roman governor
A young boy
A prominent religious leader
A homemaker
An expert in the law
A criminal
A synagogue ruler
Fisherman
A king
A poor widow
A Roman centurion
A group of children
A prophet
An adulterous woman
The Jewish High council
A sick woman
A rich man
A blind beggar
Jewish political leaders
A group of women
The high priest
An outcast with leprosy
A royal official
A young girl
A traitor
A helpless and paralyzed man
An angry mob of soldiers and police
A woman from a foreign land
A doubting follower
An enemy who hated him
A Samaritan woman

We are supposed to, as Christians imitate Christ. No person was is off limits to the love of Christ. So, we too, should love without boundaries.

2 comments:

The Heartbeats said...

This is why I prefer animals to most people- though I am not sure that is the point of your post! I totally agree with your point though. I don't even want to watch the news anymore!

I think I love Damit!

Mamma Heartbeat

Ott, A. said...

We had several bottle babies growing up on the farm (both calves and lambs) they were always extra work but usually brought extra joy.