Cows formed a sort of backdrop to my life growing up. I helped my grandpa with his cattle occasionally, various uncles and aunts and cousins either milked cattle or raised beef cattle, and my parents even owned cattle for a brief period when I was a kid. I liked being around the cows.

Hills formed the literal backdrop to my life. I grew up in the Ozark mountains in the middle of hills, like water surrounding a fish. My neighborhood sat on the side of a hill. A friend’s house was either uphill or downhill. I walked to school—uphill—but glided downhill on the way home. A bike proved a liability at times, fun on the way down, but required a lot of pushing on the way up.

After college I moved to Manhattan, Kansas, in the middle of the Flint Hills. More hills and more cattle. I loved it.

So when I read this description of the Lord’s resources, I resonate:

For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I find comfort in the Lord’s cattle. They signify His sovereignty, and the reality that God controls the world, not us. They portray his wisdom and abundance as they mosey through the fields.

So, on your road-trip this summer, gazing out the window, I encourage you to enjoy the cattle, and remember the good hand of the Lord.

Psalm 50 in week thirty of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Daniel Quiceno