I'm not laughing smiling but not laughing because those who laugh usually
end up getting laughed at later


Lelia Struve email [log in to unmask] msn [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 2:11 PM
Subject: My New Cowboy Hat


> Maybe God Wears A Cowboy Hat
>
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>
>      I rode horses a great deal as a kid growing up in Iowa.
> Most summer weekends I spent Saturdays at a friend's home just
> outside of Des Moines and we spent most of the day either fishing
> in the creek or on the back of a horse.  Additionally, my father
> was a country preacher.  He often drove 50 and 60 miles into
> farming communities on Sundays and ministered in churches too
> small to afford a full time pastor.  His family, of course,
> generally went along and since these were mostly farming
> communities, there were lots of horses to ride.  I didn't care if
> there was a saddle or I rode bareback; I just loved being on a
> horse.  In light of all of this horseback riding, I never
> considered myself a cowboy.  I especially hated wearing hats and
> never did wear them.
>
>      When I moved to Colorado, my first job was standing on my
> feet all day.  By evening, I could hardly walk.  My employer kept
> telling me, "Buy cowboy boots."  I had no interest in cowboy boots
> whatsoever and I told him so.  He said, "So, then, let your feet
> hurt."
>
>      One day, in total agony, I said to my boss, "Would you please
> go with me after work and help me pick out boots?  I know nothing
> about them."  He did so.  I wore my new boots for a couple of days
> and then went back to shoes.  I couldn't even walk down a flight
> of stairs with my boots on without tripping and falling half way
> down the steps.  I was never going to get used to wearing boots
> and I knew it.
>
>      Two weeks later, I was complaining to my boss one day about
> how terrible my feet hurt.  He told me it was my own fault for
> not wearing the cowboy boots.  I explained I couldn't even walk in
> them and didn't think I could get used to them.  He said, "Look.
> Put the boots on and wear them until you get over the
> psychological hang up you have about wearing them.  Don't give
> up."  I took his advice simply due to the pain my feet were
> suffering.  Two weeks went by and I was 100 percent sold on
> wearing cowboy boots.  It is all I have worn for well over thirty
> years now.
>
>      Recently, I was in need of some new clothes.  I had been
> putting off buying new cowboy boots for over three years because
> boots aren't cheap even if they do last many years beyond any
> type of shoes.  So, I was going to buy some new clothes and new
> boots and my mind was made up.
>
>      The day before my purchase, I was thinking about going out
> and buying the clothes.  I hate shopping and especially for
> clothes but it had to be done.  As I considered what I needed and
> what I was going to buy and how much I would spend on boots, I
> heard a small voice say, "Buy a hat."
>
>      I immediately said, "What?  I hate all hats," and waited for
> the Holy Spirit to continue.  He said nothing.  I still waited.
> He still didn't continue.
>
>      Unfortunately, I knew He was referring to a cowboy hat.
> Finally I said, "Lord, why do you want me to buy a hat?"  I was
> almost in tears at the thought of wearing a stupid cowboy hat.  As
> a blind person, hats always bothered my ability to hear well
> omnidirectionally and I just didn't like hats.  I didn't even like
> them, nor did I wear them, when I could see.
>
>      Finally, as I waited, the Lord said, "Because you are
> different now."
>
>      "Hold the phone there, Lord!  What in the world does that
> have to do with buying, and wearing I might add, a dumb cowboy
> hat?  I'm not even a cowboy.  I don't own a horse.  The last time
> I rode a horse, my bottom hurt for a week.  I'm not a cowboy!  I
> couldn't toss a rope if my life depended upon it."
>
>      All these things could have easily come to mind and I was
> tempted to let them come tumbling out in rebuttal but due to prior
> experience with such arguments with God, I refrained.  Why?
> Because I am learning to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
> I knew exactly what He meant when He said, "Because you are
> different now."  The hat isn't important; my obedience to His Word
> is.  In other words, it was a test to see if I would obey.
>
>      You should have seen my youngest son and my wife when I said,
> after picking out the black cowboy boots I wanted, "Now I want to
> go look at the hats."  They nearly left me standing alone in the
> store.  My wife even said more than once, "Why are you buying a
> cowboy hat?"  I kept saying the same thing; "I don't know."  That
> wasn't true, of course, because I knew exactly why I was buying a
> hundred dollar cowboy hat; because Jesus told me to.  Admitting
> that publicly, however, was a little difficult.
>
>      So now, every time I leave my house, I am wearing a nice
> black cowboy hat.  People laugh and say, "I can't believe what I
> am seeing."  I just smile and climb in their car just like I have
> always worn a cowboy hat and boots.  No, I tell very few people
> why I wear a cowboy hat because, like you, they wouldn't believe
> me if I told them.  So I just wear my hat and every time I do, it
> puts a smile on my face, joy in my heart, and praise to my God for
> caring about me so much, He even tells me what to wear.  It is
> like a rancher friend of mind has always said, "God makes a pretty
> good cowboy."  I'm beginning to believe, God might also wear a
> cowboy hat.  Go ahead and laugh all you want but wait until it
> happens to you some day.  Then it will be my turn to chuckle.
>
>
> I Flew Kites With Jesus
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>
>