After a wonderful, relaxing vacation, we came home to shear madness. We had received a call while coming into town that one of the cows that we knew was sick was even sicker. And about three days after getting back, my husband had to put her out of her misery. Talk about hard. It is never fun to have an animal get sick. But, putting one down takes an emotional toll.
Then about a week later, another cow got bogged down in the river mud while trying to drink. Local fishermen called a chain of people before finding us. Our guess is that she was probably in that mud for about 24 hours. The local fishermen stopped their fishing and helped us dig her out and get her back up the bank. We were extremely hopeful as she was alert when we got her up. She was given food and lifted so that her legs could get the blood circulating again. The efforts to save her were heroic. Unfortunately, by the next morning, she was died.
Have you ever had one of those days? One of those weeks? How about one of those months? Well, right now, that’s what’s happening in our lives. I wish that I could tell you that everything is sunny and glowing, but for the last three weeks, it’s just been one of those senseless times. The craziness has just taken over.
Yesterday, just put the cherry on top, when our teenage son went to do his cow check rounds. He called us to tell us a cow was down. We rushed to the far back pasture to find a pregnant heifer on the ground unable to move. It had only been 24 hours since he did his last round. As we tried to get her lift to get her circulation going, she too died. Our emotions were all over the place. What was happening to the cows??
As all the cow madness was going on, we were having trouble with our construction loan for the new house. We were having to add more money to the pot. Adding more money is never a fun prospect. Aside from that another land deal we were negotiating was turning hostile. And just as the snowball was getting bigger, my 97-year-old Dad got severe swelling in his feet, that is never good. I was just about done.
Prayer is an important part of our lives. We do it daily. We do it together. We rely completely on Our Grand Creator for everything that we do and I mean, EVERYTHING. My early morning walk, yesterday, went by so quickly because I prayed the entire time. Let me rephrase that, I cried and prayed the entire time. I felt refreshed and renewed. My soul had truly been strengthened.
Later, while sipping my tea, the phone rang. The mortgage company was calling to say that they were sending the disclosure papers for our loan and that we were scheduled to close on Friday. This Friday? Yes, this Friday! Then, we got a text from the land owners stating that our last term was accepted and could we close right away. Finally, a call to my Dad’s doctor stated that it was nothing to serious. It was like God had parted those dark storm clouds and allowed the sun to come shining through.
We still don’t know yet what is wrong with the cows. But the vet has been called. And we know he’ll help us find a solution to this mystery. So, for this moment in time, things are better. Not perfect, just better.