Sharing My Story On TV
Several years ago my family and I had the opportunity to be featured in segments of a couple different agriculture focused TV shows. Bluegrass and Backroads, which is done by Kentucky Farm Bureau, and a couple years later America’s Heartland, airing on RFD. Once I get past the horror of listening to myself talk, especially in the earlier segment shot before my voice had changed at all, I get a lot of value from looking back at these clips. First, I remember both crews who came out to film being great people and fantastic to work with. I think they did a great job, and the Bluegrass and Backroads segment even went on to win a regional Emmy award. Reflecting now that I’m older, I’m very appreciative that they told my story truthfully and in the way that my family and I wanted it told. They easily could have edited out all our references to faith and played it safe on offending anyone, but I’m glad they didn’t and the story is so much better because of it. It’s also a good reminder for me to reflect personally. I’m struck by what my family dealt with as I was losing my sight, and how they’ve always supported me and advocated for me ever since. I’m thankful for the great cattle I’ve been blessed to have a hand in over the years, and more importantly the people that have been apart of that experience. It’s neat to have H, who some of you may know as Steel My Heart, be in these videos as a calf. The memories I have with her and the doors she has opened for us in the cattle business are special, and I’ll always be thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with her.
Most of all, any time someone expresses inspiration from anything I do, it’s extremely humbling. It’s really hard to rap my head around; I’m just a guy showing cattle with my family and other normal stuff. It’s a powerful reminder that God can use ordinary things and there’s something bigger than us behind everything. God is always at work, even in the circumstances that we may view as ordinary. I relate it to a message that my friend Bill Sloup shared with me after starting this blog. He had heard Ravi Zacharias tell a story relating our representation of Jesus to “wearing his coat.“ As Christians, everything we do is a representation of Jesus. When we love our neighbor as we should it’s a good reflection, and even when we inevitably make mistakes it’s an opportunity for his power to be made perfect in our weakness if we own it and look to him. I see this as both a huge blessing and an awesome responsibility. A blessing because of the comfort and meaning that being a part of a kingdom that is all powerful can bring, and a great responsibility because of the weight of such a gift. In this way, it’s a wakeup call for me any time that I’m reminded that people sometimes see what I’m doing as out of the ordinary or inspirational. I’m reminded to not get bogged down in the little things that can so easily get to all of us in our day to day, and focus more on the gift and responsibility of wearing His coat. It’s my prayer for myself and you that He will teach us and guide us in wearing it well.
