Hello, this is pastor gary from first baptist church of laplata. Today’s Throwback Thursday is from Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Have you hugged a cow today? Apparently, this is the latest trend in coping with coronavirus lockdown issues. While most people opted to adopt a dog or cat—adoptions are up 400%–the more eccentric out there are hugging cows. Cow hugging is believed to promote positivity and reduce stress by boosting oxytocin in humans, the hormone released in social bonding. When I first read this, I thought to myself, “Holy cow! What will they think of next?,” but I guess if you are lonely enough during this bum steer of a pandemic, you just need to take the bull by the horns and embrace a cow—just don’t do it in a china shop. I’m sure if my wife came home and saw me hugging a cow, she would have a cow; however, if farmers take advantage of this strange trend charging for the experience, they will have hit the bull’s eye and found a new cash cow. I suppose this fad will last until the pandemic ends or at least until the cows come home. The Bible has many references to cows such as Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis 41 or God’s ownership of the cattle on a thousand hills in Psalm 50:10. There’s also the Red Heifer mentioned in Numbers 19—what today we might call a sacred cow. As for me, I have no interest in hugging cows, but I do love to eat them…I take mine medium. If you do decide to hug a cow to assuage your loneliness, watch where you step: where there are cows, there are cow pies…and a cow pie is not a dessert!
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