Now looking back I understand...

We have a saying in the south. When times are good in people's lives, when fortunes are great, and blessings are abundant we often say, "We're walking in high cotton." or "He's walking in high cotton." or "She's walking in high cotton." We notice our cotton height in the south. I can't tell you how many times I've heard my grandfather remark, "Look how high the cotton is!" He should know; he's picked his fair share.

Well why do we say that, "We're walking in high cotton?" Well, let's think about it in agricultural terms for a minute. Cotton, though it only requires moderate rainfall to yield a decent crop, can only be helped by an adequate amount of rainfall. I've seen many summers in my short life span where cotton struggled to survive in times of drought. I've also seen times when cotton has thrived with adequate rainfall. I've seen the rain produce high cotton and there is no greater feeling I would imagine than a farmer to have a field full of high, ever-abundant cotton. 

Well, this is much like life too. We have times in our lives when things don't go so great. We have times in our lives when there are periods of drought. The "cotton" isn't so high then. Yet, through prayerful persistence and hard work, I've seen many a physical cotton crop and the metaphorical "cotton crops" of life grow into times of "high cotton." Many times though, we really don't understand, we don't even notice the "cotton" growing. We only notice the struggles and hard work we endure. We only notice the "rain." 

Well the rain does bring high cotton doesn't it? 

The group Alabama has a song called "High Cotton." It's one of my favorites. Here's the lyrics:


"High Cotton"


We didn't know that times were lean
Round our house the grass was green
It didn't seem like things were all that bad
I bet we walked a thousand miles
Chopin' cotton and pushin' plows
And learnin' how to give it all we had.

As life went on and years went by
I saw the light in daddy's eyes
And felt - the love in mama's hands
They kept us warm and kept us fed
Taught us how to look ahead
Now lookin' back, I understand.

[Chorus:]
We Were Walkin' in High Cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Those fertile fields are never far away
We Were Walkin' in High Cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Leavin' home was the hardest thing we ever faced.

When Sunday mornings rolled around
We dressed up in hand-me downs
Just in time, to gather with the church
Sometimes I think how long it's been
And how it impressed me then
It was the only day my daddy wouldn't work.

[Chorus 2x]

We were walkin' in high cotton.

I love how this song starts off with reflecting on our mindsets as children. When we're a child, we don't notice some of the struggles our parents faced physically and financially. Sometimes, as children, we don't even notice our own struggles. Yet also as children, we notice, as we grow that work is required. We learn to "give it all we have." As we grow older, we sometimes wonder why we give it all we've got when things never seem to change. However, as the song so clearly demonstrates, when we look back we understand. We were and are walking in "high cotton!" No, we may not have a mansion. No we may not have an abundance of friends. We may have to work hard every day. We may have to "chop cotton" and "push plows." BUT I will guarantee you that if you look back on your life and look at where it has led you, chances are you've walked in "high cotton" most of the way. We go through the hard work, the droughts, and the rains of life for a reason-they all help us see how high the cotton really is.

Tonight, the measure of a man can sometimes be found in his ability to look back and understand how long he has walked in "high cotton." How high is your "cotton field?"

That, my friends is just a few thoughts from a small town southern man!