The farmer recounted how his cows behaved when he put up a new gate:

“Mooo, that’s not been here before…Must turn around.” 

He described how they shift, shake their heads and moo.  Some turn and wander away.  Some stand before it paralyzed.

That very gate may be the way to greener pastures and lush surroundings.  That single gate may be what stands between the thirsty cow and a fresh watering hole.  But the cow stares at the gate–half confused, half offended–and seems to think, “Moo, moo…that doesn’t belong here.  I’m just gonna turn around and go back, or stand here and stare at it.”

We often act like cows at new gates.  

What we really long for is just on the other side of something new and unfamiliar, but we often forfeit what we really desire because to get there means we have to face what is new and unfamiliar.  It feels entirely too risky. However, gates are not barriers unless you are unwilling to open them and pass through.

When we stand before new gates in our lives, we often feel confused. “What? That’s not been here before. That’s not the way I have always done it.” So we turn around or stand still.  Some of us just get offended. “What? The old gate was just fine. How dare anyone think I need to go through a new gate? That’s not what I am accustomed to. I am not going to mooooove!”

Let’s not be like cows at new gates.  Let’s be willing to consider new things and confidently approach that which is unfamiliar.  In doing so, we will get to a place of deep satisfaction and nourishment for our souls.

What is the new gate you are facing? What would your life be like if you were willing to proceed right through it?

Don’t see that gate in your life as a barrier; rather, see that gate as an open invitation to something new, better and broader. That new gate you face will only be a barrier if you are unwilling to open it. 

If you act like a cow at a new gate, you will lock yourself in to the place you’ve always been and keep yourself from the place you long to be.

You know I can’t resist writing this bad pun as my last thought: Just moo, moo, moooooove sister!

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  Well, that’s what’s been percolating in me lately!

What challenging gate are you facing right now? Leave a comment here.