I got to fluff hay this morning…not too excited when I found out I was going to use the big blue cab tractor. I know it has A/C and I stay out of the sun better and its not that I just don’t like it… its just that I really love my little blue open cab tractor. But Charlie was using it so I just do as I am told. As I moved the big blue one across the road to the hay field I noticed the steering was a bit loose….I asked Adam about it and he said it is just that way and that they tried to fix it but it wasn’t better…in other words it was okay to drive and I should “get at it”.
I proceeded to fluff…noticing the steering but getting used to it and trying not to let it get to me. It was a little squirrel-y…kind of like me, a bit crazy, all over the place, sort of hyper, slightly crooked, but trying to stay in a semi-straight line. Then it started getting harder to turn and harder to get back on track and harder to stay straight. It was really getting on my last nerve and I was beginning to get really ticked and it was making it hard for me to keep my mind straight. I can only imagine how it looked to the cars going by on the road…I am sure they were wondering who the heck Pug had fluffing and what the heck that person was drinking…it was that bad…
I tried to call my honey to see if he was mad at me and that was why he had me driving this rachet tractor, but I could not get him on the phone…probably a good thing since I was not a happy farmer. So I did the next best thing and called Adam, who actually got me going on this tractor to start with. Because by now, I had graduated from rachet to full blown jacked up. This was ridiculous and I felt quite sure this was not just a squirrel-y problem but we were dealing with some major steering malfunction. I asked Adam exactly how hard is this tractor supposed to be to drive??? He said it sounded like a steering oil problem and I agreed telling him I would check it out and let him know.
Well there is no “I” in team but there is an “I” in Charlie….. and Charlie is on my hay fluffing team so I flagged him down to help me check the steering oil…there are a few places to put various kinds of fluids so I wanted to be sure to do it correctly. We checked and it was empty…I used my bottle and Charlie’s bottle because that is what team members do for each other. I called Adam and told him it was all good but that we would need more oil for future fill ups and we were both fluffing again. Yay for happy endings…Yay for having a good team…Yay for steering oil. And I could no longer be jealous of Charlie getting to drive my favorite tractor because he helped me keep mine
going.
So just like that we were both back to fluffing again and I could not believe the difference that steering oil made in my tractor, It made the turning so much easier, the getting back on track a breeze, and staying in a straight line was, well it was easy as cake (that’s what my Kels always says). It immediately made me think of Jesus and how He does that for me, all day every day…He is like my steering oil…as long as I have Him and lots of Him I seem to cruise on pretty smooth, things seem to go easy and my life is just….. better. But as soon as I get too low on Jesus or too far away from Him I start to show signs of weakness, chaos, and just plain old boat loads of yucky stuff. And I would not have had to fight the tractor so much if I would not have waited so long to make that call or get Charlie to help me check the oil level…just like I would not have to struggle so much on my own if I would just admit sometimes that I need a fill-up of Jesus and let my heart get so full of Him that while there will be things that make life difficult, make paths crooked, and make it hard to stay on course…I won’t let them get me to the point that I cannot think straight. That is what Jesus wants us to let Him do for us.
I would love to say The End and we all lived happily ever after…but NOPE that was not the case. Before long my steering was doing the same thing so I checked it again and sure enough it was empty which means I probably have a leak…it happens…to the best of us… So what does that tell you……it just means that sometimes we are all a little leaky, and some of us may need more Jesus than others and on a more regular basis. While its really okay to be a bit squirrel-y at times there is no need to be ratchet or jacked up….we ALL need Jesus….in different doses and in different ways…and for different reasons but He is the same Jesus for us all. So don’t wait too late to check your Jesus levels and fill up…He is there, ready and waiting…His grace is sufficient and the only thing there is ever more than enough of…and it sure does not hurt to ask for help sometimes from people on your team as well as people that are not on your team…you may be surprised at where you can actually get the best help and you could be helping someone else in return…
As for happy endings…I got a call from my other hay team member Mickey who asked me if I wanted Charlie’s tractor because he was going to help move hay…all I could think was thank you Jesus…You are so good to me! I was going to get to drive my favorite tractor for a couple hours and as I climbed up in Mickey’s truck so he could take me to that little blue open cab tractor…I was indeed a happy farmer. Patience is a virtue…not one of my strong points but I am getting better with it…I am still learning more about tractors and I am still learning more about Jesus…its all good.
I am thankful for steering oil and I am blessed beyond measure by Jesus…..
