Riding for the Brand

When I was nineteen years old and my mother, Tahleatha, was thirty-nine years old, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She was the most godly and compassionate person I knew. She was in the hospital when I took her my first saddle bronc riding check I won in my first PRCA rodeo. I thought it would make her happy because she was at the high school rodeo when I covered my first bull, and I could hear her over the entire crowd cheering me on. I thought it would bring her joy that her son finally became a man, but I could read disappointment on her face.The rodeo check didn't even put a smile on her face, so I asked her, "Mom, what would make you happy?"She knew I gave my heart to Jesus at a young age. So she said, "I wish you'd give your life to Jesus."So I told her on her deathbed that I would, and I signed up for a one-year Bible institute in the Adirondack Mountains. I asked God, "Please get a hold of my life, or when I get out, I'll probably go back to rodeo and hunting and manly stuff."I learned God wasn't about taking and stripping everything from us but using the talents and interests he gave us in the first place as a platform for God to display his glory.