Sojourn on the Prairies

Sojourn on the Prairie

The old trainer got up early – the sun had risen but was barely peeking over the top of the buttes to the east of his camp. There was a damp chill in the air, so he reached up and took his oilcloth duster off the hook. He turned up the collar to the ward off the chill. He was greeted by half a dozen mahogany colored pups and he sat down on the steps of his horse trailer to pet and scratch the young puppies.

One female puppy crawled up on his back, and proceeded to lick his ears, he smiled and pushed her away and stepped up into the trailer and took his saddle off the hook. His horse was gathered up quickly and saddled, and shortly he was riding towards the high butte west of camp. He looked down and he was being followed by a single red colored puppy. He smiled and wondered how long she would be able to follow, before he would have to get down and pick her up to carry her on his saddle the rest of the way. He admired the tough little girl, her daddy was tough too. He rested under a shady tree near camp now, gone too soon, like many good dogs.

The butte was a bit of a ride. It would be much easier to take his pickup, but he enjoyed the ride. As he rode, he watched a small group of antelope grazing in an alfalfa field west of camp. Riding across the big CRP field the little red puppy suddenly turned – catching scent of something and she bounded with great enthusiasm into the middle group of sharp-tails. Bouncing around with her eyes wide, the old trainer laughed aloud at her antics as she tried to figure out which bird to chase, finally giving up, but seeking more as she went along with him towards the high butte. He enjoyed these rides, they gave him an opportunity to reflect on the previous days training, and ways to make the training program better.

The old trainer spied movement from the corner of his eye, perhaps the flick of an ear. As he turned towards the movement and his eyes focused on the area, at first not being able to pick out where the movement came from. Then slowly the image of a doe and a spotted fawn laying motionless in deep grass took shape. Once the doe realized that the old trainer was looking at her, she let out a low call and she and the fawn bounded away across the prairie.

As he climbed up towards the high butte in a series of buttes the little red puppy let out a whine and he got off and picked her up securing her in the front of his duster. He thought that they must have made quite a sight – an old trainer with a little red puppy resting her head in the crook of his arm, as he guided the old horse up through a gap in the rocks leading to an ancient rock cairn on top of the butte.

Who built the cairn and why was unimportant. It commanded the entire valley and prairie below. The old trainer had once been a Church going man, even teaching Sunday School for a time. He had been to the Holy Land and walked in the footsteps of the Prophets and toured the ruins and temples of what had once been their world.

As he looked across the splendor of the prairie, he reflected that no man-made Church or Temple he had been in compared to the glory and creation of the prairie.

The wilds of the prairie had become his church, and he had never felt closer to his Creator than he had since coming to the prairies all those years ago. This is where he came when he needed to reflect on things. As he sat there, he watched a kit fox wander and play in a prairie dog town far below, obviously not caring or perhaps not knowing that his antics were giving the old trainer a bit of joy. Prairie dogs frolicked on the prairie, emerging as the kit fox moved off to the north.

A gentle breeze was coming out of the west, causing the knee high prairie grass to sway in the wind. He reflected on how he was priviledged to live in such a great country, he thought of the lessons he learned in Mr MacDonald’s History class all those years ago and how that influenced so much of his life. The words written on that old document.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

People don’t talk like that anymore, and he thought how much longer will the country stand without believing in the fundamental things that are the bedrock or the cornerstone of the country.

He bowed his head and recited a prayer that he knew by heart, that had always been above his parents mantle as a child growing up.

“God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.”

As he rode back towards camp, he reflected on his life and those three things that had shaped his life and gave him great joy. God, Country, and the dogs.

I figured this would be a better introduction than I could write here – These were my thoughts and feelings this summer. What I thought would be a Happy Eternal Marriage in 1995, has been on life support for over a year now. My wife moved with the kids back to Montana – because she had little support system here in Waco, TX. It really has become a crisis of faith for me – even contemplating having my name removed from the rolls of the Church in the past year. I am not perfect, and I am inactive now – although I have gone through periods of being active throughout my life. But, I guess in the 32 yrs I have been a member you could probably say I was active about 16 yrs or so. Since, coming to Waco – I have never had a home teacher even though on the occasions (2 or 3 that I went to church) I indicated that I would welcome the visits.

Very Conflicted now.