Win All Day
Pictures speak louder than words, but since I, being a widow with excess words to deliver, will provide this blog with words AND pictures. This first photo is of my beloved son by marriage (Staci’s husband) and his best “other” friend than Staci – his John Deere Tractor. His dream come true. His baby. His peace-on-earth place to be. Larry grew up on his grandparents’ farm and went to Texas A&M, so farming/agriculture/outdoor living and working has been in his blood for a long time. His dreams came true when he and Staci found their 60+ acres and having just moved into the home they built there.
I took this second photo from their home as he made his way to seed bermudagrass for hay throughout the acreage on the other side of the lake. Staci and I continued to work on setting up the new house when she received an SOS phone call from Larry. He assumed he was far enough from the lake as he seeded, but, unfortunately, he ran over an underground spring that literally pulled the tractor in and got stuck — a really BIG “stuck”. Hence, this third photo!
A friend building their chicken coop for them was on the property. He had a 4-wheeler; Staci had their 4-wheeler and Larry, on the tractor, tried for nearly five hours with every means possible to free it but the more they tried, the “deeper” the tractor tires went.
The tow truck that came to help got stuck, too! Fortunately, the winch on that tow truck was able to free the tractor. But, another tow truck had to come to free the first tow truck. It was a full day of “shock and awe”! All is well now and Larry was able to finish seeding his acreage — not to mention the lessons he learned well.
Now! Take a look at that shirt Larry is wearing “WIN ALL DAY”! Was that a joke about the very opposite that appeared to happen OR was it a man who told all of us that he was going to win in this day no matter what. We might have expected this man to have lost his patience, speak words of self-deprecation, even cursed. We might have expected this man to stomp about and have a pity party. We might have expected this man to have been embarrassed to have to call in help. Gracious – some folks curse when they miss a stroke or make a careless move in playing a game.
But, NOT, this man! This man is filled up with so much of God’s Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He put to practice and performance what he preaches on a daily basis to the men and women that he and Staci minister to. He showed his true colors.
At one point, I made this dumb statement when Staci was encouraging Larry. I said, “Misery sure loves company, doesn’t it?” Larry’s quick reply was “This isn’t misery. This is my best life. This is my tractor. My land. My lake. There is nothing to complain about.” Goodness! Such goodness and gratitude coming from one man and his “stuck” tractor.
Indeed, WIN ALL DAY, is a slogan to live by. I certainly learned by Larry’s calm and peace-filled presence something about winning. We all know the enemy wants to steal our peace and our joy, but when we determine to WIN each and every day by the power of the Holy Spirit Who lives big in us, we, too, will conquer the giants in our lives.
BTW – The little cove where this “Win All Day” started has now been named “J. D. Cove” – that is, John Deere Cove. We’ll never forget the WIN when we’re chillin’ at J.D. Cove!