Six Degrees of Separation

The more experiences I have and the places I go, the more I believe in the idea of “Six degrees of separation” – the theory that we are all about six people way from any other person on Earth.

As an industry information intern for Certified Angus beef, I had the opportunity to pack my notebook and camera and head to Littlerobe Angus, near Higgins, Texas, during Spring Break. Duane and Donna Jenkins have been in the Angus business since 1948 and have since made it into a family operation. And yet again, the world gets a little smaller. One of the Jenkins sons, Dale, and his wife, Brenda, along with their four daughters, live out on the ranch.

I met Dale when I was a junior in high school through the Northwest Texas Conference Council of Youth Ministries. One of his youth, who is now a youth minister himself, was very involved in our group, therefore Dale became very involved.

There are those people you meet in life that have a last impact on you – Dale is one of these in my life. His love for God is evident the moment you meet him and is family are some of the kindest people that I know.

While having dinner the family told a story about a Mother’s Day picnic adventure they had in Palo Duro Canyon. Upon entering the park, they turned down a map offered to them at the entrance since they had been there many times.

After they finished with their early evening meal, the girls wanted to explore so Dale, along with one of the girls boyfriends, and the girls took off.

After walking for a while, they decided it was time to head back but realized they were quite a ways away from where they started. With the hopes of finding a short cut, they continued around curves hoping to find one that cut back left, but all went right.

As the sun went down and the air cooled off, Brenda became worried because it was not like Dale to get lost. Search parties were sent out and after several hours of walking, no water, blisters, and a few tears, everyone was found.

How many times does this happen, figuratively speaking, in our daily lives? We turn down the offer to spend time studying God’s Word and taking it along. Then, we try to do things our own way, which can lead us further away from where we really need to be. And then after time, sometimes hours, sometimes days and sometimes years later, after a lack of spiritual water, physical and mental wear, and maybe even a few tears, we get found.

I encourage you to stop, examine where you are and see if you might need to grab that Map and head a different direction.