Minnesota Nice

Minnesota Nice
Theology in the Trenches
by Kathleen Kjolhaug

What is that up ahead? I wondered.  I could see just fine as the storm hadn’t arrived as of yet, and before it did, I was on a mission. The mission was simple...finish up my errands before it hit. The side road that led home was farm country all the way. To be exact, I was coming up to the Larson homestead, and if you live anywhere in Minnesota, chances are you, too, live near someone with that same last name. Truth is, four of our neighbors are Larsons. Some are related; some are not.

Like I was saying, I was driving along when off to my left I saw a 4-wheeler moving at a steady pace. As it turned from the pasture onto a driveway, I noted that within it bobbled two little heads and one grown-up in the driver’s seat. Tied to the back of the 4-wheeler was a long thick rope and at the end of the rope was a black plastic sled marking time. Within the sled was something I could not quite make out, and behind that was a large brown cow trying to keep up with the likes of it all.

Clever, I thought. They wanted that cow in the barn for whatever reason and had most likely filled that sled with a little feed to motivate the animal to go from point A to point B in a cooperative fashion. It all made sense until I got a little closer. That’s when I saw that it was not feed in the back of the sled. Rather, there was a newborn calf that had been strategically placed within it. As the driver slowed, that mama cow could catch the scent of her baby and would proceed to follow in the direction the 4-wheeler was headed. 

In mere seconds, I understood. Not only was there an April snowstorm ready to hit full blast, but this mama had just given birth and the Larsons were making sure that both mama and calf would be safe.

I suppose this won’t make national news. Heroic hearts often go unnoticed…except for this one. I saw it. With my own eyes, I saw it.

There are lots of heroic acts around the neighborhood and I suppose around yours too. Why, just a couple years back, another Larson, one that’s not related…was flying over our farmland in a helicopter making sure we were all safe. That’s when it happened. He got shot at by another neighbor whose last name wasn’t Larson. It was all rather exciting until you understood that heroism means sacrifice and putting yourself before others can be not only amazing but downright dangerous.

Back to my story. Suffice it to say that I made it home before the storm hit. Fact is…I drove into my driveway when the first flakes began. Now, as I look at the winds blowing outside, I can picture that little calf and its mama tucked away in some straw… and fed with some homemade hay from the Larsons. Well tended they will be.

Philippians 2:1-4 puts it in even better terms. “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interest of others.” 


I pray the Larsons in your neighborhood are as nice as the ones in mine.  Amen.

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