I survived!

Howdy!

Some might say I’m a good friend, but I think Ms. Mai Lee better be saying I’m a GREAT friend after this weekend! Part of our duties as a State Officer is to work a major livestock show. Like many of you know, I worked Fort Worth already. Well, Mai Lee was supposed to work at San Antonio and just a few days before, found out she was going to be there all by herself. Of course I felt terrible and so she somehow talked me into going with her! A little background, Mai Lee lovesssss pigs, and me on the other hand, not so much. Now steers, I would be thrilled to work that show any day. I used to show in High School but I bet people probably thought I came straight from the city after these last couple of days!! I might have showed for 10 years but I have never enjoyed getting dirty which is exactly what we did! I can’t lie to you, when we got there on Sunday, I wore flip flops and that lasted about 10 minutes until they made me go change. They told us we would be done working about midnight and needed to be back up there the next morning at 3am, wow! To some this trip up, it was a long and interesting couple of days but it was worth it. I saw many of you there and that just happened to be on my gate every time. My duty was to open and close the gate when the exhibitors brought their pigs in to the holding area. That gate and I became best friends because we got to spend so much time together! Parents yelled and screamed at me hundreds of times telling me to OPEN THE GATE. It got super intense thats for sure, but it was really cute getting to see all the little kids showing for the first time.

I guess I need to back up a little bit… On Saturday, Lora and I ran a 5K in support of Breast Cancer. It was very cold and windy and I somehow forgot my inhaler (not a good combination). So of course when I got done, I thought I was going to die! No but really, after running this I didn’t feel very good because of allergies and all the stuff that was already going around. Later that evening, I met Mr. Wallrath in Huntsville for dinner. I really admire this man because he is a living example of what it truly means to be a servant leader. For those of you who have had the opportunity to read his book, its very good and will give you a greater understanding of his background. He actually told me a while back that a company wanted to make his book into a movie, which would be really neat!!! Now I’m back to where I left off… between the 5K, not sleeping due to studying, and several days working the pig show, I haven’t felt so great! Mai Lee, Reagan, and I went to dinner Monday night in San Antonio and our waiter told us we looked pitiful. Pretty good compliment huh?! All 3 of us were sick and would wake each other up during the night coughing… not fun! Good news is that I think we are all getting better and my voice came back so I’m extremely glad.

What I learned from this experience is something I think we all take for granted some times. You see, us working in San Antonio might not have been our exact definition of a fun time but someone has done that for us before. Who do I think opened the gate for me every year I showed at that stock show, Casper? Probably not! Each time I would catch myself wanting to complain, I kept reminding myself of Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.” I want for you to keep this in mind next time you are asked to do something not so fun, or even to remind you to thank those people working for YOU at livestock shows. Take a little extra time to reflect on what the true definition of service really is. We should never do it for recognition of others, but more importantly recognition of the big man upstairs. Make it your goal this month to remember this and apply Colossians 3:23 to your everyday life.

In just three short weeks, I’ll be in New York City for Spring Break!!!! I have been looking forward to this trip and especially getting to see Britney Spears in concert for quite a while now! Good luck to any of you still showing in San Antonio and congratulations to those of you who did well. Hope to see you soon!

Be Blessed,
Macy