Heart Thoughts from Helen

“…impress them on your children. Talk about them when you …walk along the road…” (Deuteronomy 6:15)

Our youngest grandson, Luke, occupied the back seat of our car on a trip from his school to a birthday outing. As we drove through the country by a cattle ranch his six year old voice broke the momentary silence. “My daddy can ‘moo up’ a cow.”

“Moo up a cow??” was my surprised reply. “What do you mean, Luke?”
“He can moo up a cow! Once when we rode home this way, he stopped the car, got out and stood by that side of the road and ‘moooooooooooed’ up a cow and the cow came.”

My thoughts ran back quite a few years to the summer that our oldest son, David, spent working on a ranch in Montana between his sophomore and junior year in college. One of his duties included milking cows. I also remember the quick lesson on cow husbandry and milking my daddy gave him before he left. My paternal granddaddy owned a dairy farm at one point in our family history. Daddy knew how to moo up’ cows so he could milk them.

The Hebrew children's tendency toward forgetfulness equals our own, so the Lord God instructed them how to overcome such weaknesses. Rather than doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku games, He had a better idea. “Hear o Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and your gates. Kids remember things that we have no idea they will remember.

David recently needed a substitute teacher for his Sunday school class. He called his momma. His momma at first declined with “Son, those young people don’t want an old lady teaching them.” After a while he ‘mooed up’ his momma again. Guess who taught the class! He knew he could call on his parents in time of need. Now that in no way indicates that my son calls me a cow, but you do get the point! David’s Pap remembered what he’d learned from his daddy and taught it to my son. David remembered what he’d learned and taught it to his son. Luke remembered what he had learned and of all things, reminded us of what his daddy had learned.