Pressure, Yielding, and Trust

Hello Dear, Dear Friends!

I hope and pray you have all had a good Christmas and holiday season! I am

so very thankful to those who helped me obtain better winter clothing and work clothes. In 5 degree weather plus wind, the right clothes are really important! I also cherished & have kept all the cards I received. I am truly blessed to have such precious, caring friends. Thank you!

Muddy & Wet!

I cannot believe 2014 is here already! And it's even more amazing to think that just 6 months ago I would not have believed I'd be working on a grass-based cattle operation in NC!! I am already praying about and putting feelers out about what the next step will be... we shall see, and I will certainly keep you posted!








In the mean time, I keep coming back to a lesson about "pressure" I learned at Wil-Moore Farms last summer as a CFSA intern. At Wil-Moore Farms, the chicken tractor-house doors are fashioned on a frame covered in wire-mesh and hinged on the house. A brass clip secures the door to the house. A number of times I'd have trouble un-clipping the door in order to get in to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.

I'd struggle and struggle and then Keith would come over an simply un-clip the door. I would just be amazed and he would patiently explain to me again about pressure. You see, when there is pressure on the clip it is exasperatingly difficult, to move the pin and release the door. By knowing where the pressure is coming from you can maneuver the clip or the door to take the pressure off. Then the door opens easily. Sounds simple doesn't it? But time and time again whether filling a syringe for Doc to treat a cow, fixing a flat tire, or trying to open a stuck gate, I have been faced with the same lesson: Pressure.

Lessons about pressure also come into play when working with the cattle. Take for example bull #007. He is one of our younger, viable bulls. I call him "James". The back-story is that in December, we artificially inseminated (AI) all of our breeding cows. This was a 4 day process involving long hours and a team of seasoned helpers to round up all the cows and run them through the stockyard where they would undergo the breeding process. The AI process did not insure that 100% of the cows would conceive so, we then introduced bulls into the cow herd. The cows who did not conceive through AI then came into heat again when the bulls were present.

This is James, #007, one handsome dude!

Of the five bulls here, James (bull 007) was NOT selected to be in with the cows this time. Instead, two other bulls were put in, but James, from a half a mile away, could sense what he was missing and, let's just say he was very enthusiastic about wanting to participate. In fact, he was so enthusiastic that twice in one afternoon I found him out of his pasture and hunting a way to the cows. Now, herding a cow is one thing but herding a bull is quite another, especially when he is really motivated to go somewhere! My cow pup (my dog, Simon) and I tried to encourage James back to his pasture but he was so determined that I quickly realized this 2500lb bull was no match for me waving a white plastic fence post and my fledgling cow pup! I headed to the shop to get the Kubota and offer a larger presence to the bull to insist he return to his pasture. Luckily, this worked. I packed up for the day, closed up the shop, and headed to the house for a hot shower.

It was dark by the time I finished my shower. As I toweled my hair I heard the unmistakable bellow of the bull under my bedroom window. I looked out. Sure enough, there was James. My house is between his pasture and where the cows in heat were pastured and he was looking for a way through. I pulled on my clothes, boots, and jacket and grabbed my headlamp and a Coleman flashlight that can spotlight 100 yards away. I located the bull in my yard and then quickly got the Kubota from the shop. I wasn't going to take any chances in the dark. The Kubota has headlights but when you are out on the pasture in the dark it is REALLY dark and you need to be able to scan 360 degrees around you.

I drove back to the yard in the Kubota but in just those few minutes James had literally disappeared. I drove all around the house, the pond, and the stockyard area searching for him and thinking he couldn't have gone far but, he was no where to be found. I took my high-powered Coleman flashlight and scanned the pastures around the house hoping to catch the glow of his eyes in my light, but nothing. I decided to turn the engine off and listen. Sure enough, in a couple of minutes I heard him bellowing in the distance. I determined the direction and took off. This darn bull had gone a quarter of a mile down the road and luckily into another pasture of ours where he thought he could get through to the cows a couple of pastures over. We didn't have cattle in these pastures by the road (Longest Acres Rd) so all the gates were open. 

This is where James "should" be!

At first, I thought I could coax him back onto the road and back to his pasture with two other bulls but, I had wet hair, it was about 38 degrees outside and I had thought I was done for the day. I was in no mood for chasing a bull in the dark and James was in no mood to go back to his pasture. He was flighty and the least bit of pressure from me in the Kubota made him spin around and run. This particular pasture had some downed trees and marshy areas and I quickly realized my best bet was to use his energy to my advantage in order to contain him so, as he was running toward a gate he thought was open (but I knew was closed) I was closing the other gates and making sure the electric fences were on and were hot. Whew! James was secured for the night! I put in a word for him with Doc (farm owner) and a couple of weeks later we moved #007 in with the cows. You're welcome James!

I think they like me! This one is licking my jacket
while I was out fixing fences.

As I think about pressure I've seen it come from many directions. Sometimes it's job pressure, or relationship pressure, or the pressure from expectations whether they are our own or someone else's. We can feel pressure when we are moving in the wrong direction or even when we are headed in the right direction. Pressure makes us move or not move and definitely influences the direction of our lives. It can be hard to decide if the pressure is a good thing or not and if it means to move or hold steady. I think I try to live life with as little pressure as possible but ultimately for me it comes down to the faith & trust I have in my sovereign Lord. 

Through love, patience and consistency, Buck Brannaman creates a level of trust with a horse so the horse understands when he puts pressure on them (with a weight shift or leg cue) they can trust the direction he is taking them. It becomes a beautiful dance of pressure, trust, and surrender and I believe this is a picture of how Almighty God wants His relationship with us to be. When I surrender (give) to the authority (pressure) of Jesus Christ (He, as the rider, I, as the horse) beautiful things happen and I am at peace even if there is chaos around me.

You have no idea how precious your friendship and support is to me! I'd love to hear your thoughts about the subject of pressure and what it means to you.
If you haven't done it already please LIKE Braeburn Farms and Jan Nirri's facebook page where I post things between blogs. And, if you've made it this far in my blog please treat yourself to one of these video clips: 

Buck Brannaman on Pressure and Release


Buck Brannaman on Fear




Happy Trails and love to all!