Pastor Clay Smith: Dragging the calf...

We were working cows down in Florida. We had a bunch of young calves on the ground, some only a few days old. They had made a long trek to the pens with their mamas. Normally, we like to work with calves when they are small, giving them shots, tagging them and turning the bulls into steers. It is easier for them and those of us doing the work. It was wet, however, so we decided to let them go until the next time we work.

Some of the calves were bursting with energy; others were exhausted. They laid down in the holding pen. After we had wormed their mamas, we turned the little calves back with the cows.

I've seen it hundreds of times, but it still amazes me. We turn out 20 calves, and 50 cows will be outside the gate. You would think it would take 20 minutes to get everybody sorted out. It usually takes seconds. The cow and the calf reunite, then they trot off together.

But this time, some of the babies were too exhausted from their trip to the pens. They just stayed put. Like a teenager who won't get up in the morning, they had found their comfort place. We needed to put them in a trailer and haul them to their mamas.

My friend and the crew bossman, Greg, roped one and got him in the trailer, then drug another. There was one more, so I grabbed his hind legs and began to drag him to the trailer as well.

He put up no resistance. He was either exhausted or resigned to his fate. I don't think he would have cared if I drug him all the way back to South Carolina. He had given up.

I dragged him to the trailer, and we lifted him up and put him with his fellow baby calves. Greg hauled the calves to where most of the cows were, and soon, the mamas and the babies were back together.

There are times we feel like giving up. We are exhausted from fighting for a relationship. We are worn out from battling our personal temptations. We wonder if it is worth it to keep trying.

Maybe we just say, "Let whatever happens happen." I wonder how many marriages have ended because a couple gives up and thinks, "If we get divorced, we get divorced. We just can't do this anymore."

My own give-up moments center on my personal sin struggles. It just feels easier to give up and give in. But then God grabs me. He has not yet grabbed me by both legs, but there is always that possibility.

Instead, God grabs my attention. I read a passage of scripture and remember God is in control. I listen to helpful podcasts or a song I like, and I am reminded of the goodness of God. Sometimes, my own sermons convict me. A thought enters as I prepare: "Do you really believe this, or are you just going to say it to other people?" I remember that I really do believe, and I know God once again has grabbed my attention.

God drags me to reality through the voices of wise people in my life. Wise voices belong to my children, to my wife, to the great team I work with and to my closest friends. They speak truth to me, and the Holy Spirit whispers to me, "This is real, this is true. Pay attention." Most of the time, I do. When I don't, I am like the calf that squirms loose and runs away.

This might be the hardest part for all of us to understand: When God grabs you, you might be frightened, or you might not care. But God is pulling you to a place where there is good for you. He is pulling you away from exhaustion and apathy into active participation in his will. God knows if you stay disengaged, you will miss his best. Apathy is never God's will for your life.

If you feel like giving up, if you feel exhausted, do not think God is done with you. He is coming for you, ready to grab your attention, ready to pull you to a better place in life.

The Rev. Dr. Clay Smith is the lead pastor of Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter. Email him at claysmith@adbc.org.