First it was a
fireman.
Then it was an
astronaut.
It wasn't until I matured to the
age of four,
that I realized my true calling
was to be a cowboy/sheriff.
I think it might have been the
boots.
According to my
mother,
I wanted to wear my boots
everywhere......
and that included to
bed
(secretly placed back on after
being tucked in)
My bestest
birthday
occurred that year when I
got
a leather gun belt &
gun
(okay, looking back it was
probably fake leather,
but at age 4 it seemed really
real)
For about a
year
(probably about 3 weeks in adult
time)
I wore my cowboy outfit
everywhere......
everywhere, except to
church.
For some reason, they did not
like
children bringing munitions to
Sunday School.
I remember reluctantly agreeing to
go and worship God,
as a
civilian.
I was a top notch
cowboy/sheriff.
I must have performed at such
a high level
because at Christmas I received a
shiny sheriff's badge.
This badge was well
deserved.
As much as I can
remember,
our ranch was never robbed during
my watch.
Stagecoaches always made it safely
to their destinations.
Citizens felt safe walking the
streets.
The only shortcoming I
had
might have been a brief incident
on the cowboy side of things.
That's when I tried to brand the
steer.
That didn't go exactly as I
planned,
but that's another
story.
I have wonderful memories of my
career as a cowboy/sheriff.
Last year when my siblings and
I
were cleaning out our mother's
home for sale,
we came upon many memories of our
childhood years.
Many things were
discarded,
but each of us kept favorite
mementos.
And that's when I found
it.........
No not the
boots,
not the shiny
badge,
not the
munitions......
I found IT,
my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot
Cup.
No, this wasn't your
average
Big Juicee Cowboy Boot
Cup....
Nooosirrrreee
!
This was my Big Juicee Cowboy
Boot Cup
complete with
spur.
I loved my Big Juicee Cowboy Boot
Cup.
It was the only way any self
respecting cowboy/sheriff
could start his
day.
I would fill it up to the very
top.
Sometimes I would fill it so close
to the brim
that this cowboy/sheriff's
mom
would attempt to give me
a straw to safely
drink.
As any cowboy/sheriff
would,
I always refused the
straw.
Have you ever seen a
cowboy/sheriff use a straw?
Over the
years,
as I moved onto other
careers,
I gave up my boots, badge, &
bullets,
but I kept my Big Juicee Cowboy
Boot Cup close by.
For a while,
it became the perfect place to
store my marbles.
Later on,
it was the quintessential pencil
holder.
Somehow, in the confusion of my
adolescence,
I lost track of my Big Juicee
Cowboy Boot Cup.
Adolesence does
that.
I didn't see my Big Juicee Cowboy
Boot Cup again
until this year, some 40 years
later.
Time has a way of changing one's
perspective on things.
Things rarely look the same, or
have the same significance
40 years down the
road.
That's why my final career is so
important to me.
During those adolescent
years,
I surrendered my life to Christ's
lordship.
I remember that first moment of
surrender
as if it were yesterday, but oh
how different I am now.
Unlike my first career as a
cowboy/sheriff
which was
self chosen,
this career as a follower of
Christ
was initiated by
God,
and I only needed to
respond.
Unlike my childhood passing
fancies,
this career is for a
lifetime.
And instead of a
costume,
I need
armor.
No need for cowboy boots.
I wear the breastplate of of
righteousness.
No need for a shiny
badge,
give me the shield of
faith.
No cowboy hat for this
one,
I have a helmet of
salvation.
No gun nor ammunition
anymore,
for I have the sword of the
Spirit.
Each one of us has a Big Juicee
Cowboy Boot Cup
in our
lives.....
something that remind us of when
we were a child.
But we are told in His
Word,
to put away childish
things*
as we take on that which is eternal.
I plan on keeping my Big Juicee
Cowboy Boot Cup nearby.
Not because I need
it,
but because it reminds me of who I
have become.
Just don't give me a
straw.
*I Corinthians
13:11
Therefore, take up the whole armor of
God,
that you may be able to resist in the
evil day,
and having done everything to stand
firm.
Ephesians
6:13
.
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