THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Big Surprise.
By Elena Utkina January 30th, 2026
“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9
It happened when I was eleven years old. In the Russian village where I lived, there were seventy houses and each family had a vegetable garden and also domestic animals. In our yard we had chickens, ducks, geese, and a cow that was pacing about importantly. Thanks to her, my dad and I went on a little trip.
At the onset of spring, as soon as the first grass appeared in the fields, all the cows were taken out to pasture. As you may know, cows cannot walk on their own; they require a herder. But no one in the village wanted to watch their cows graze all spring and summer, so the villagers decided that they would take turns taking the cows out to pasture each day.
As we waited for our turn, I dreamed about taking them someplace far away where we had never been before, and how we would spend our day—my dad, seventy cows, and me. Now that’s good company! Mom gave me one of Dad’s old shirts so I could sew a backpack for our trip. After all, what’s a trip without a backpack? When I was done, it turned out to be quite big, so we could put everything we needed inside.
The day before we left, the head of the village showed Dad a field on a map of the area where we needed to graze the cows. We woke up very early, and Dad said that we would now pass through the village and drive all the cows that stand along the road to the fields. My mother put the backpack on my shoulders, and my career as a cow herder began.
Dad drove the cows on one side of the road, as I worked the other. I had a long twig in my hands, and my dad had a long whip. He hit the ground with it and shouted: “Go! Go!” His voice was so loud that the cows didn’t walk. They ran, and I ran after them!
Time passed quickly, and now sunlight flooded everything around us. We led the cows off the road into a field and stopped so they could eat the grass.
Suddenly, Dad cried out in surprise, “Look at all the cucumbers!”
I looked down and saw cucumbers growing everywhere around my feet. In fact, we were standing in a huge cucumber field that stretched out in every direction! We picked some of those small, prickly cucumbers and had a great breakfast!
When it was time for lunch, Dad said, “Well, let’s have a bite, my little herder. What did Mom pack for us?”
I took a paper roll from my backpack and unfolded it. To our surprise, we realized our lunch was… cucumbers! Dad and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We laughed for a long time.
As I look back on this childhood episode, I think that in this lifetime, we are often anxious to fill our backpacks with different things, forgetting that the Lord is leading us to His land, where the things we need, and the things of most value are available in great abundance. And like that cucumber field, His supply is endless!
The Big Surprise.
By Elena Utkina January 30th, 2026
“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9
It happened when I was eleven years old. In the Russian village where I lived, there were seventy houses and each family had a vegetable garden and also domestic animals. In our yard we had chickens, ducks, geese, and a cow that was pacing about importantly. Thanks to her, my dad and I went on a little trip.
At the onset of spring, as soon as the first grass appeared in the fields, all the cows were taken out to pasture. As you may know, cows cannot walk on their own; they require a herder. But no one in the village wanted to watch their cows graze all spring and summer, so the villagers decided that they would take turns taking the cows out to pasture each day.
As we waited for our turn, I dreamed about taking them someplace far away where we had never been before, and how we would spend our day—my dad, seventy cows, and me. Now that’s good company! Mom gave me one of Dad’s old shirts so I could sew a backpack for our trip. After all, what’s a trip without a backpack? When I was done, it turned out to be quite big, so we could put everything we needed inside.
The day before we left, the head of the village showed Dad a field on a map of the area where we needed to graze the cows. We woke up very early, and Dad said that we would now pass through the village and drive all the cows that stand along the road to the fields. My mother put the backpack on my shoulders, and my career as a cow herder began.
Dad drove the cows on one side of the road, as I worked the other. I had a long twig in my hands, and my dad had a long whip. He hit the ground with it and shouted: “Go! Go!” His voice was so loud that the cows didn’t walk. They ran, and I ran after them!
Time passed quickly, and now sunlight flooded everything around us. We led the cows off the road into a field and stopped so they could eat the grass.
Suddenly, Dad cried out in surprise, “Look at all the cucumbers!”
I looked down and saw cucumbers growing everywhere around my feet. In fact, we were standing in a huge cucumber field that stretched out in every direction! We picked some of those small, prickly cucumbers and had a great breakfast!
When it was time for lunch, Dad said, “Well, let’s have a bite, my little herder. What did Mom pack for us?”
I took a paper roll from my backpack and unfolded it. To our surprise, we realized our lunch was… cucumbers! Dad and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We laughed for a long time.
As I look back on this childhood episode, I think that in this lifetime, we are often anxious to fill our backpacks with different things, forgetting that the Lord is leading us to His land, where the things we need, and the things of most value are available in great abundance. And like that cucumber field, His supply is endless!
THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Big Surprise.
By Elena Utkina January 30th, 2026
“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9
It happened when I was eleven years old. In the Russian village where I lived, there were seventy houses and each family had a vegetable garden and also domestic animals. In our yard we had chickens, ducks, geese, and a cow that was pacing about importantly. Thanks to her, my dad and I went on a little trip.
At the onset of spring, as soon as the first grass appeared in the fields, all the cows were taken out to pasture. As you may know, cows cannot walk on their own; they require a herder. But no one in the village wanted to watch their cows graze all spring and summer, so the villagers decided that they would take turns taking the cows out to pasture each day.
As we waited for our turn, I dreamed about taking them someplace far away where we had never been before, and how we would spend our day—my dad, seventy cows, and me. Now that’s good company! Mom gave me one of Dad’s old shirts so I could sew a backpack for our trip. After all, what’s a trip without a backpack? When I was done, it turned out to be quite big, so we could put everything we needed inside.
The day before we left, the head of the village showed Dad a field on a map of the area where we needed to graze the cows. We woke up very early, and Dad said that we would now pass through the village and drive all the cows that stand along the road to the fields. My mother put the backpack on my shoulders, and my career as a cow herder began.
Dad drove the cows on one side of the road, as I worked the other. I had a long twig in my hands, and my dad had a long whip. He hit the ground with it and shouted: “Go! Go!” His voice was so loud that the cows didn’t walk. They ran, and I ran after them!
Time passed quickly, and now sunlight flooded everything around us. We led the cows off the road into a field and stopped so they could eat the grass.
Suddenly, Dad cried out in surprise, “Look at all the cucumbers!”
I looked down and saw cucumbers growing everywhere around my feet. In fact, we were standing in a huge cucumber field that stretched out in every direction! We picked some of those small, prickly cucumbers and had a great breakfast!
When it was time for lunch, Dad said, “Well, let’s have a bite, my little herder. What did Mom pack for us?”
I took a paper roll from my backpack and unfolded it. To our surprise, we realized our lunch was… cucumbers! Dad and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We laughed for a long time.
As I look back on this childhood episode, I think that in this lifetime, we are often anxious to fill our backpacks with different things, forgetting that the Lord is leading us to His land, where the things we need, and the things of most value are available in great abundance. And like that cucumber field, His supply is endless!
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