It was 1972 when my first thoughts of Lady are clear. I was around 9 years old. Lady was a tri-colored collie with beautiful pricked ears and a long pointy nose, just like Emma pictured above. She was my Uncle's collie and lived on his Long Meadows Dairy Farm - in Pennsylvania. I was lucky enough to spend weekends and a week here and there at his farm with my cousins and Aunt. Lady was the first working dog I ever met. It was her job to bring the cows in to be milked two times a day and without fail she performed her job flawlessly. She seemed to have an internal time clock, as she was always on time...never late. No matter the weather...in the cold icy wind of the winter or the hot humid sun in the summer...Lady did her job. I never saw my Uncle call her or remind her. I would see her heading out to the pasture and I would look up and think..."oh, it's milking time already". One day, I remember asking my Uncle if I could go out with Lady to bring the cows in. He said, "sure, but stay along the fence line." I'm glad I was the kind of kid to listen, as I saved myself a great deal of grief and trouble in life. It served me well on this particular day. I was walking along the fence line, kind of grumbling to myself..."gee, I'm way behind, I can't even see Lady. I'll never catch up...it doesn't help that I have to walk the whole way over to the fence line and not just follow Lady's path..." As I was bemoaning this fact, I felt the earth tremble, I could hear the thunder of many hooves beating the ground and it was then I looked up to see a herd of cows running right toward me. Had I not been along the fence line and in the middle of the field, I might have been trampled. The thought made me shutter but only for a second as my breath was taken away by the sight of Lady. I stood in awe, as my hand grasped the fence, unable to move, to breathe as I saw this beautiful tri-colored collie at the back of the herd driving the cows toward the barn. This little dog was moving a whole herd of very large cows! I was simply stunned and amazed by this working dog! I heard myself say out loud..."breathe, Barbara, breathe"! I knew then that I wanted a tri-colored collie just like Lady...one day.
Galatians 5:7 and 8 says: "You were running a good race. Who stopped you from following the true way? This change did not come from the One who chose you."
I was reminded of Lady's story this past weekend as I read the scripture above. Her determination and focus, a true inspiration. I lost a bit of my focus this past weekend, a little of my determination. But thankfully, I was once again inspired by Lady as I remembered that day when my heart was so young and full of dreams. If God can give a collie a job to do, a race to run...then how much more does HE have in store for me and you. He can help me build my small business, help it to flourish and grow. My job is to breathe, listen, stay focused, be determined and stay in the race. It would seem tri-colored collies have been inspiring this heart of mine since 1972. What a wonderful race I'm in...and thank you Lord for sending Lady...the very first collie to inspire, guide and teach me.
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