My Dad Was A Cowboy
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 9:03PM As you know, my dad passed away on September 10. At the memorial service, there was mention of his past as a cowboy, and I remembered this old post from the old blog. Originally there was a photo of my dad as a young boy dressed up like a cowboy, but that’s gone now, and I can find neither the photo nor the scan of the photo to upload to this repost, so I’ve had to make do without it.
When my sons were little, they wanted to be pirates or superheroes. When my dad was little, his dream was to be a cowboy. My boys dressed up as pirates and superheroes, but my dad dressed up as a cowboy. I have a photo of him as a boy dressed in chaps and a bandana, holding a lasso, looking pleased with himself.
My boys haven’t grown up to be pirates or superheroes, but my dad did live out the dream he had as a little boy living on a farm in western Kansas. After he served in the military, he worked on a ranch in Kit Carson, Colorado. He loved his work riding the range and he didn’t plan to ever be anything but a cowboy.
But sometimes other dreams take you by surprise. One day my cowboy dad was listening to the radio. I don’t remember the name of the program he was listening to, but it included a presentation of the gospel. The Spirit “blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes,” and that day the Spirit blew across the open range of Colorado and a cowboy was reborn.
Before long, the cowboy had a different dream, and he became a student at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennesee. Next he was a pastor of a little church in Belleview, Idaho; then a student again (this time at Wheaton College in Illinois); and after that a pastor and professor in northern Minnesota. He’s now retired from teaching, but he still lives in Minnesota, where he co-pastors a little country church.*
What happened to the cowboy dream? The interest didn’t die, at least not completely. My dad bought a horse in Minnesota, but once the horse was thoroughly trained, the fun went out of it for him. My family sometimes went to Idaho in the summer so my dad could help out on my uncle’s ranch, but though he really loved those breaks from his work and study, the cowboy life wasn’t his dream anymore. He had a new dream: to be a servant.
I wonder what the Spirit can make of former pirates and superheroes?
*He was still working in that little church up until a few weeks before he died, still living out his servant dream. You can read a few tributes to him here.
Reader Comments (9)
Those are beautiful tributes. To be remembered as someone who really loved God really is the things one would want to be remembered for, and it sounds as if your dad was.
Rebecca,
So sorry to hear of you're father's death, but what a legacy he must have left–with you, with those he served. I'm not sure I ever had the dream to be a cowboy, but I now know the joy of being a servant like your father. There is nothing I'd rather be than an "ordinary pastor," to use D.A. Carson's description of his father. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
What can I say except that humanity has lost another good man,
God Bless his soul and my deepest sympathy and prayer goes out to you, your family and friends.
Sweet memory of your father and how God shaped his future.
The photo is wonderful!
This is such a loving tribute to your dad. How blessed you are to have had a father who "was a man who loved God, loved the Word, and faithfully served his Lord."
I'm glad you found the pic. Love that he's all decked out in cowboy gear, with bandanna around his neck and rope ready to lasso a horse.
Forgot to add that I think it's wonderful that he continued to be a servant of the Lord as long as he lived. He didn't, as most folks do, indulge in a self-serving retirement, but served at his church. Our lives show what we really treasure, and his showed that his treasure was his Lord.
Thank you for sharing about your dad, Rebecca. He left a wonderful legacy as a servant of the Lord.
Oh Rebecca, I'm sorry for you loss. I love the way you told your dad's story and the photo. So another page turns, and heaven looks better every day, right?
Thanks, all of you, for your encouragement. These comments are great!