Many of the readers out there have never tried to raise hogs. Let me encourage you by saying, don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything but plenty of trouble, and you are fortunate. As a lad I always tried to raise from one to three pigs for pork during the year. The meat was very good, but it was a job to raise and butcher them.
Hogs are hogs, and they like to root up the ground in their pen, making it very deep in mud when the rain comes . They root out a muddy hole, lie in it, and shake mud on you when you try to pour the slop in their trough. We fed them corn, but also saved the dish water, potato peels, and bread crumbs plus other scraps from the table, and called it slop. Hogs loved it and we were finding a use for leftovers.
One day I ran as fast as I could to pour some slop food in the hog trough. I though since they were asleep at the other end of the pen I would dash the food in the trough before they would wake up and run up to sling mud in my face. I failed; they did awaken, and ran up, slinging mud as they came. Being bare footed, I stumped my long toe on a stub, knocking the nail off and breaking the toe. As I fell to the ground in agonizing pain, wishing I had never seen a hog, I spilled all the slop on myself. So there I lay crying, in slop and blood from the toe. The hogs still plunging against the fence worried about losing their food, but no sympathy for my injury at all.
Meanwhile mother up at the house heard my despairing cry and came running with the old kerosene (coal oil lamp) pouring the kerosene on my bleeding toe. After all, a doctor visit would cost one dollar in the 1930s and we couldn’t afford that. It wasn’t too long until I was well and working with the pigs again. We must do many things we don’t like in life.
One more characteristic of the hog I did not mention is that they are very selfish, self-centered, and show no appreciation for anything.
When I poured the slop in their trough, they never looked up to say, “Thank you master.” I didn’t expect it because they were only hogs. But we human beings do not need to act like hogs. We can say thanks. In Psalm 103:1-2 the Bible says, “Bless the Lord, O My soul; and forget not all his benefits.”
How long has it been since you had a talk with the Lord and said thank you Lord for my life, my wife, husband, children, and grandchildren and for letting me be born in America. Thank you Lord for a greater home awaiting me in heaven. Let’s not act like a hog. If you have not made reservations for that home above don’t delay. Tomorrow may be too late. Jesus paid a tremendous price for it. Don’t let it be empty for eternity!
Older
Top
