How to bring the cow home : thoughts on obedience

The spring is here and our chickens are behind the fence to protect the garden area.  Our Don Diego keeps flying over the fence to enjoy the rest of the yard.  My daughter, Jennifer, went out to catch her and toss her back to the chicken run.  Jennifer is sure that Don Diego knows that she is not supposed to fly over the fence because whenever she gets caught she has that guilty look on her.  Jennifer thinks our chicken is willfully rebellious.  Well, the chicken experts say that you can not discipline chickens.  Maybe Jennifer is putting too much meaning into the simple action of a chicken.  

When I was about 8 years old we lived in a mountain village in Korea.  We had a cow, chickens, a dog, and a pig for one night.  The pig kept us awake all night. The next morning my dad, sleep deprived and unhappy, called other men to take care of the problem. Every one in our village had pork for dinner that evening.

Our cow had better luck than the pig.  she was our most prized possession next to our home, especially after she had a calf. My dad took great care of her.  He would take her and her calf out to a grassy field in the morning and tie her up so she could enjoy the sunshine and get plenty to eat.  In the evening he would go out and bring her home for the night.

One spring afternoon it stared to rain and my dad was tied up in some work and couldn't go get the cows, so he asked me to go get her.  I never did such work before, but my dad told me all I had to do was untie the rope and they will find their way home.  He told me to untie the cow first then the calf because when you untie the cow first she will wait for the calf, but if you untie the calf first she will run off and the cow will go after it.

It was raining but a pleasant spring day and I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I was old enough for my dad to trust me with bringing the cow home.  It was a little bit of a walk from our home to where the cow was.  When I got there they were just standing there wet with rain.  I untied the calf and then the cow.  Then I realized what I did wrong.  The calf took off and the cow started going after the calf.  Somehow her rope was all tangled around my ankle. As soon as she started running the rope around my ankle was spinning and dug into the flesh.  I looked down on my ankle in horror as blood soaked my socks and blended with rain.  There was nothing to do but wait until all the rope ran through.  I do not remember how I got home or what my dad's reaction was when I got home.  What I do remember is that the wound got infected and I suffered from it for about three months.  When summer came my mom sent me to my aunt in the city.  she took one look at my not so pleasant ankle and  went to the pharmacy to get anti bacterial ointment. Behold the power of modern medicine! I couldn't believe it. It only took about a week for my wound to heal.  

I still have a scar from that experience. Whenever I look down on it I think of my father, our cow, and our home.  As I look back on this experience I wonder why didn't I listen to my dad.  I think we disobey for three reasons.  First, we do not understand the instruction.  Second, we do understand it, but simply forget because of distraction.  Third, we willfully disobey because of pride. 

As I try to be more obedient to my Heavenly Father this experience taught me a good lesson.  First, if you don't understand the instructions ask Him.  Second, eliminate the distractions of life so you can remember Him (His instruction) always.  Third, if you do forget for whatever reason you can always apply the ointment(the Atonement) to heal your wound.