As we are approaching the holidays, my mind races about gifts and what to do…online shopping, Amazon deals, Santa, the stupid elf, store lines, recipes, cooking, family gatherings, work parties, school parties, teacher gifts, and lest we forget about all the calves that have been born and the ones to come in December…insert #Jesusandxanax here. Our families don’t exchange gifts between each other anymore. As the families have grown over the years, we decided to stop the token gift buying and just give to the little kids. Our parents always purchase a gift or two here or there for each of us, but we just don’t go all out like we have in years past. Keith and I don’t really exchange gifts either, we do small things here and there, and I often TRY to match up to the thoughtfulness of his gifts, but it just never happens. You see, my husband is the ultimate gift buyer. He plans and thinks and is good at surprising people with something that is beyond special. For years I have tried to do something for him, but I can never create or come up with anything that is just that perfect, well thought-out gift. A couple of weeks ago, we were blessed to be able to go to Ft. Worth to the American Angus Convention. This was mine and Beverly’s first time to get to go, and it was an exciting time of meeting other people in the Angus business, and learning all sorts of new things. As we arrived at the convention, we were told of this massive giveaway that they would be having at the end, and if we arrived early enough on Saturday, we could enter our names twice for a Caterpillar skid steer, which was the grand prize, and a few other things that they were giving away. Knowing we would be up early anyway, we went down on Saturday morning to make sure we got our names in twice for the prizes. On Sunday evening every one gathered in the convention hall as they started telling about the prizes. We all gathered as close as we could to see who would be the lucky winners. Some lucky folks won hats and boots, and then they got down to the bigger items. They stated they would call out four finalists for the grand prize giveaway. They called out the first name, and then the second name was Keith Ergle!! Out of the four finalist, they drew to see who would win a cattle chute system, which we would love to have, but Keith didn’t win it…they put him over as a finalist for the skid steer. They gave the contestants a code, and someone’s code would unlock the machine. The first fellow got in and his code didn’t work, so now it was down to Keith and another person. Keith climbed in the cab, got strapped in and started entering the code he was given. I started videoing it, still convinced we would never win it. It seemed like he had to enter 2.5 million numbers (and I am sure it seemed like more to him)…and we stood and watched…the skid steer come to life after all the numbers were entered. He had won. He won a very valuable piece of MUCH needed farm equipment. I sat in shock, trying to keep the crazy ballpark mama from coming out and climbing the fence. (I had messed up our kid’s first out of the park home run video due to excitement and craziness, so I was determined not to mess up this moment.) I kept the crazy under wraps as a gentleman that we had met from the Texas Angus Association started telling me to go down there with my husband. Beverly, Robbie, and I proceeded to the arena to be with Keith…with the best gift ever. Remember me saying that I could never buy him a gift or surprise him with anything that was ever any good? Well, I still didn’t do it…but God did. God blessed the giver with a gift that I (nor anyone else in the family) could have never come up with, or ever afforded. Keith has given so many times, and God blessed him with this enormous gift for his faithfulness and love for others. He has always been faithful to help others, give to others, pay for a stranger’s meal, and give gifts and love to his family. Keith has never given so that God would give him something, he gives because that is the heart that God has given him and the calling He has put on him. God has blessed us beyond anything that we could ever imagine even before all of this. We are so thankful for the gifts that He has given us, including the new equipment that will be used for many years on our farm. I am so thankful that God has chosen us for this journey, and that He chose to bless this family with my hard-working, loving, and giving husband…and his brand new skid steer.
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
