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“Run Snot…run.” I can still see Snot running for all he was worth with my hog farmer neighbor right down behind him. My heart was filled with terror as I saw Snot being ushered into a corner of the corral where he couldn’t escape.
Snot began to tremble as he looked at me. The look of horror in his eyes was something I will never forget. I screamed and hollered NO…NO…please don’t, but my efforts fell on deaf ears. Snot had been my pet for two years and now he was about to become pork chops on someone’s dinner table. The farmer, Shorty Davis, raised his 22-caliber rifle to eye level and squeezed the trigger.
It took me a long time to get over what Shorty did to Snot. I couldn’t understand why he take the life of my beloved pet. After all, Shorty was the one who encouraged me to take care of one of the piglets from his prized mother sow, who died shortly after giving birth.
I named my little pig Snot because his nose always stayed wet. Little Snot would follow me everywhere I went. He would turn in circles, left then right, when I held food above his head and twisted my hands in like rotations. He could even stand on his hind legs and paw the air with his front legs begging for food, least till he got too fat.
Snot was a real blessing to me. He was faithful and showed me so much affection. Sometimes I would lie down on the grass and Snot would cuddle up to my stomach and fall asleep. A 12-year-old boy couldn’t ask for a better pet and friend.
After a couple of months, Shorty took me aside and told me why he shot Snot.
“Lucian, I want you to listen to what I have to say. All things serve a purpose in God’s creation. We were made in God’s own image because God wanted us to fellowship with Him. He walked with us and talked with us and it brought Him much joy, less till we separated ourselves from Him by sin.”
Seizing the moment, I shouted out, “ yea, we started killing our pets and God didn’t like that one bit.”
“No, now wait till I’m finished talking,” Shorty interrupted. “The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:28, God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ “That includes pigs,” Shorty exclaimed.
Shorty went on to tell me about how God had blessed him and provided for him and his family, and supplied all their needs. So much so that he was able to help others.
He asked, “Do you remember when I gave your Dad a freezer full of meat, a couple months ago, because I wanted to bless your family with the abundance I had received?”
“Well…yes I do. That was the first meat we had to eat in a long time. It was wonderful and it sure tasted goooood…ahhhhh…nooooo, it was Snot, wasn’t it? I ate Snot!”
Shorty put his arms around me to comfort me and reassured me that all things had purpose and pigs were created to bless us with a food source. When I think back, I remember the chickens and rabbits we had raised, only to eat, but somehow it was different. They never cuddled up to me or did tricks for me, then again, they never tasted as good as Snot. Eating Snot was not so bad after all.
Old Shorty taught me another lesson that day; he taught me that, “ A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9
These lessons Shorty taught me are a part of my life today, but I still have a problem with eating pork. I can still see Snot running for the corner of the pen. It reminds me how we run from our intended purpose in life till we come face to face with reality. God doesn’t have to put a gun to our heads, but sometimes He has to herd us into a corner to make us see our destiny. To fellowship with Him, walk with Him, talk with Him, and be a joy to Him.
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Scriptures from the New International Version.
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