There is a Cost

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “You can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy” was very true in our son, Matthew’s case. Here was a young man of 15 years, uprooted from his community to an area that didn’t even resemble what he was use to. Loneliness and feelings of abandonment engulfed him causing Matthew to learn the lesson “There is a Cost”.

At the local dump where my life was being blessed by the “tins & trash” another scenario was developing. Another lesson that I would painfully learn, but not yet. I noticed how the women, old and young alike, pregnant and crippled would struggle to carry their day’s findings to a scale where one wasn’t sure whether it could be trusted or not. The sight of mothers with babies strapped to their backs, infants carried in their gestation period and small children adhered to their sides was a familiar scene. One I shall never forget.

As mind-boggling as it was, I knew I could ask God for guidance. Guidance as to how we as a family could be of help. It was then on my walk home from the dump that He showed up. In a herd of donkeys, God gave me the idea how we could bless.

A donkey, which Matthew named “Esau”, bought from a local herder would become the ladies gift but not until the “country boy” would claim ownership. Esau allowed Matthew to connect with his homeland. The bonds he treasured with his Uncle Lester’s animals were ignited in the presence of this donkey. The pain of not being home diminished.

Washing, clipping, combing, feeding and riding filled Matthew’s day even though he knew it would not last. Matthew knew the time would come when he would have to give his donkey up in order that someone else may be blessed. He realized “there was a cost” in loving this animal but the rewards that awaited him were worth it all.

We too can say the same. “There is a Cost” to following Christ but the reward is real and truly immeasurable!