What Love Requires, Y'all

By Michael Ehret

(Scene: Country radio studio where the host, Jimmy Guffey, is about to talk with New Yorker Patricia Talbot, sweetheart of bullriding star Talon Carlson, the hometown boy. Guffey has heard that Talbot has talked Carlson into giving up bullriding and, as a longtime fan, he wants to know why. See the contest offered after the post!)

Jimmy: This is Jimmy Guffey on KPLR, Praise the Lord for the Rodeo Radio, 104.3, on your FM dial. Today, on “Bustin’ Broncs for the Kingdom,” we’re talkin’ to Patricia Talbert, a New York hoity-toity social coordinator who’s fallen hard for our #1 rodeo hero, Talon Carlson, from right here in Stephenville, Texas.

Jimmy says this is a photo of Talon as a
young cowboy. There's no proof of that claim.

Talon, as y'all know, loves nothing more than bullridin’ and the rodeo, save perhaps The Man Upstairs, so when this longtime fan of his heard he was givin’ up bullridin’, well, I just knew there had to be more to this story and, as one of Talon’s biggest fans, I’m itchin’ to find out the truth.

So, Patty, what’s the scoop? Fill us in, if you can. I understand a gal name of Linda Yezak—she ain’t country, now, is she? Not with a name like Yezak. Anyway, I understand this Linda has told your and Talon’s story. So tell us what you told her. How’d you convince our Talon to leave the circuit?

Patricia: Well now Jimmy, Linda may not have been raised in the country, but she's always been country at heart. Her husband, on the other hand, was raised on a farm in central Texas. You want country? His family didn't have electricity until he was six. Now that's country!

You really want to know how I made Talon promise not to ride? Well, I decided to show him what it's like to watch someone he loved get thrown. I rode Mostro—the wildest steer on the Circle Bar Ranch.

Talon taught me how to ride bulls. Even though they were fairly tame, he made me ride them without a flank strap, which, as you know Jimmy, tends to make the ride more dangerous. I wanted the strap when I rode Mostro, but I didn't know what I was in for. It made him so mean and wild, he threw me into the next pen.

After watching me get tossed, Talon didn't think twice about making the promise. Of course, it helped that he was recovering from a concussion and a broken arm he'd received when Burnt Biscuit threw him into the ER not days before. Linda told about that event in Give the Lady a Ride.

Jimmy, there’s a Bible verse comes to mind. It’s 1 Corinthians 13:7 about all the things love does—and not all of them are easy! In fact, they can all be difficult when you think about it. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I’ve been reading up on that lately, and when I think about it in connection to Talon and me, it gives me pause.

Jimmy: I’m glad you brought that up. As I understand it, you’re learning to put boots on that verse and walk it around the ranch, so to speak. Tell us about that. For instance, “Love bears all things.” What kinds of things are you willing to bear for love?

Patricia: I know what I can't bear—to see Talon hurt again. But it seems Aunt Adele is pushing him to get back on a bull, just so she can see him ride. She's my aunt and I love her, but Talon and I both have to bear with her attempts to take me back to Manhattan.

The verse says, “Love bears all things.” Love isn't restricted to any particular type. It can be the kind of love Talon and I share, or the kind I feel for the ranch, my friends, and my family—even Aunt Adele. Right now, bearing with her is stretching my patience!

Jimmy: The next part of that there verse says that “love believes all things.” I dare say that could cause some problems. Let’s just say Talon has been known to stretch a truth a time or two—he ain’t perfect. So Patty, er, Patricia, beg yer pardon, why do you think you can believe him when he says he’s never going to ride another bull?

Patricia: Ha! You know him well. His practical jokes and tall tales are legendary. I still remember the one he pulled on me when we checked for estrus cows. Almost had me convinced that the only way to know they were in heat was to approach them with a thermometer . . . well, that's another story.

For all his pranks, though, I believe in him. He's not at all like the men I knew in New York—or DC either, for that matter. We've been together about a year now, and everything I see of him smacks of integrity. He's the preacher at our Cowboy Church, and he's highly respected around here. Not to mention how patient he has been with Aunt Adele. That alone just amazes me. I can't imagine him breaking a promise to me or anyone else.

Besides, he had to do all his ranch work one-handed while he waited for his arm to heal. I'm certain he wouldn't want to risk that again.

Jimmy: Hope is what keeps many a cowboy in the game, as you know. Hope that next time he’ll make the eight or win that buckle. “Love hopes all things.” What does that mean to your life?

Patricia: My hopes are centered around making a life here at the ranch. It's totally different from New York, but I believe God wants me here. Aunt Adele thinks she can lure me back, but I love it here too much, love the people too much. I love Talon, and he belongs here, which means I do too.

I have hope that God will convince Adele—and my mother, who no doubt put her up to making my life crazy—that I am where I belong and with whom I belong.

But I also hope that the scars from my past will heal, and that this time, with this man, things will be different.

With God, all things are possible, and He is the source of my hope now.

Jimmy: Now I know you don’t want to give away too much, Patricia, and ruin things for Linda and her readers, but endurance—that there’s another great cowboy trait. I’ve seen Talon endure some pretty tough times, on the bull and off. But what does that mean to you? What are you willing to endure for your own sake? For Talon’s sake? For the Lord’s sake?

Patricia: That’s a great question, Jimmy. Honestly, at this moment, I don't know for certain what God has in store for me here. So far, all I've had to endure is the insufferable Texas heat—and Consuela's cooking lessons and a lot of ribbing from the men for being such a greenhorn.

But since I returned to my Savior last year, I've spent every day studying His word, learning who He is, and lamenting what I've missed all these years separated from Him. Whatever He sends my way, whatever I'll have to endure in the future, I know it will be much easier than what I've endured in the past. Because this time, I'll have Him to guide me through it.

Jimmy: Well, that’s about it for us folks here KPLR, Praise the Lord for the Rodeo Radio. Today we’ve been talking with Ms. Patricia Talbert about love and what it does—and what it requires. Look for the complete story of Patricia and Talon in the books by Miz Yezak, Give The Lady a Ride and the just released The Final Ride, available now in fine stories everywhere and online.

Y'all enter this contest!

Before you go folks, I am feeling led to announce a contest! That’s right, a chance for y'all to win both of these fine books by that Yezak filly.

No, I ain’t gonna make it easy on ya’—what’s the fun of that? But just answer this question below and you’re entered!  

Question: When have you had to put 1 Corinthians 13:7 into action in your life? Creativity and giggles count, so give it your best shot.

Here’s the skinny on that Yezak woman:

More than 25 years ago, after a decade of life as a "single-again," author Linda W. Yezak rediscovered God's love and forgiveness when He allowed her a second chance at marital happiness. She is now living her greatest romance with her husband in a forest in East Texas. After such an amazing blessing, she chooses to trumpet God's gift of second chances in the books she writes. Linda's novels are heart-warming hallmarks of love, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Connect with her at: Facebook Fan Page, Pinterest, Amazon Page, Goodreads, Newsletter, at 777 Peppermint Place, and on Twitter at @LindaYezak. 

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Michael Ehret has accepted God's invitation and is a freelance editor at WritingOnTheFineLine.com. In addition, he's worked as editor-in-chief of the ACFW Journal at American Christian Fiction Writers. He pays the bills as a marketing communications writer and sharpened his writing and editing skills as a reporter for The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star.