No Cow Bell Necessary

In the back room of the place I work is a cow bell. It used to hang over the backroom door as an alarm bell of sorts, alerting associates to anyone who entered the backroom without authorization. Eventually, it was taken down by someone who had the good sense to see that it was overly loud, extremely annoying and not really necessary in the first place!

It still sits on a shelf as if someone consciously decided, “We’d better hang on to that--never can tell when we might need it again. And you know how often you need a good cow bell and can’t find one for nothing!” But more likely, it is still there because of the fact that whoever bought this one for the store, spent $18.25 for it, and it seems like a lot of money to spend, just to throw it away. So it will probably be around for a bit longer, gathering dust and more than a few puzzled looks.

I was noticing this particular cow bell at work the other day and was reminded of a time in my life when I was exposed to cow bells as they were intended to be used--on cows. For a short, but significant part of my life as a child, I lived with my family on a very small farm. Our neighbors across the street, an elderly man and his wife, had a much larger spread than we did and had quite a few cattle, so I was used to seeing cow bells.

The woman, on at least one occasion, had suggested to Mom that she and Dad should put cow bells on us kids so they could keep up with the four of us. (We had a lot of freedom to roam the area in that day, and we liberally exercised that freedom.) They never actually did resort to cow bells, but were probably tempted to do so a time or two when we were hard to find after a day full of exploring.

So, it got me thinking how God doesn’t need a cow bell on his children to know exactly where they are, what they are doing, or the challenges that they are facing. He not only knows where we are, He is there with us and He promised He wouldn’t ever leave us. I find great comfort in knowing that no matter where I am, I am never alone. And that if I trust Him, no matter how far I’ve wandered away, He can always get me back home.

I serve a wonderfully loving and caring God, who is mindful of my every need, and forever faithful to watch over me and keep me. All that, and no cow bell necessary! How blessed is that!