Surprises, and blessings, come in a multitude of packages.
Early spring on the farm I went to feed our cows. I'd noticed one cow was getting close to calving. One morning she was not with the rest of the cows, as they came to eat. After pouring the feed in the troughs, I drove our kubota ATV through the pasture to look for her. Skimming the edges of the pasture, and the edges of the tree line, I came up empty. She must've gone into the woods. With my muck boots on I parked the kubota, and started making a path thru the woods. This part of the farm was low, and was still holding water from the previous rain. The area was sticky with brown mud. Another heavy rain was expected later that day, and would only worsen the wet ground. We had done some clearing in these woods a few years earlier. The result of the clearing was a lot of undergrowth, briers and bushes. The briers were thick. There was enough opening between each brier patch, and I was able to push on through. The long arms of the briers crossing each opening tore away at my clothes. I'd already dressed for bible study, but finding the cow was a priority. Time was short. I needed to leave the house in about 30 minutes. Changing clothes would need to be done after I had found the cow, and gone back to the house. I tried to zig-zag across the patch of trees, hoping not to miss the cow if she was lying down. Walking for a little bit I found her. She was about dead center of the woods on a little high spot. I could see after birth hanging out of her, and she was standing. Knowing the area around her was wet, muddy, and full of briers, I didn't want to disturb her. I got close enough to know she was ok, and left to let her tend to the newborn. My plans were to check on her later, when I got back from bible study.
It rained like the weather man said. It rained hard. After bible study there were a few errands, and a grandson to pick up. Getting back to the farm, our grandson wanted to drive the kubota in the pouring rain. He drove the kubota splashing in the mud puddles for about an hour. I guess you could say I took my lazy pill that day, because going to check on the cow got put aside. The kubota had a hydrostatic transmission, and it's lack of power makes it frustrating to drive in mud. Our grandson didn't have any boots at our house. The thought of getting stuck, and carrying a 50 pound boy half a mile, didn't interest me. I put off checking on the cow.
I fed the next morning. Driving around the woods, I looked for the cow with some feed for her. I called, but she didn't come out. I guess I took a lazy pill again today, because getting out in the muddier woods and briers didn't appeal to me. She looked ok when I last saw her, and felt she was still ok. The cow was one raised on the farm. Her dad was known for low birth weight calves, and I felt the trait had been passed down to his offspring. I didn't feel there was a need to worry about the cow or calf. There hadn't been any trouble calving with any of the cows. I left.
The next morning I didn't make it out to feed, and never went to check on the cow. There seemed to be a trend in taking a lazy pills, because it seemed to happen again. It was spring, and grass was shooting up. The urgency to feed everyday wasn't as strong as it had been a month before. I got busy, and never made it out to the pasture.
On the third morning I went to feed. Once again I brought some extra feed for the new mother. I was prepared if she hadn't come back to the other cows yet. After pouring the feed in the trough for the rest of the herd, I looked down toward the woods. I could see a black cow walking. It had to be her. I drove the kubota her way. Getting closer I was anxious about seeing the new baby. There's not much prettier than a newborn calf, except a newborn foal, and of course my newborn children. Looking toward the mother's feet I saw a little black baby. Driving a little closer, I noticed another little black baby. I had to do a double take. What? Is this right? Had the mother I'd neglected the past couple days given me twins? My eyes filled with tears. What an unexpected blessing. It was a double portion. Nine months ago these calves began to grow in their mother. Nine months ago, God started this blessing knowing I needed a reminder. Today I was reminded, God is at work even when we sometimes take a lazy pill. God is good. I felt unworthy to receive such a blessed day.
The cow seemed to be taking care of both calves. She kept running from one calf to the other calf nuzzling them. She was waiting on both calves, and looking after both of them. I was happy. It's best if a baby can stay with it's mother. One calf was evidently smaller and weaker than the other, but still seemed to be keeping up. Later in the day I talked to a neighbor about one calf being weaker, and decided I'd better keep a close eye on it. Mid-afternoon I went to check on the calf. The mom was trying to keep an eye on both calves, but the smallest kept falling behind. I never saw it nurse, and the mother had walked away with the other calf. The smaller calf lay down in the grass to rest.
Later in the afternoon, Tim and our son went with me to check on the calf. I was a little encouraged knowing we found the calf with the herd. However, The calf was unattended, and by itself. We have a friend whose son milks cows and sells fresh milk. We had some fresh cows milk in our refrigerator, and carried it with us to give the calf a little more nourishment. She was a tiny thing, maybe 30 pounds. She wouldn't suck, so we slowly poured about a pint of milk into her mouth making sure she was swallowing. Telling Tim about the mother walking away earlier, he thought it would be best to bring the baby to the barn. He didn't think she was strong enough to keep up with her mother. Her mom was watching us, but stayed a good distance away with her other calf. We loaded the calf into the back of the kubota, and headed for the barn. The mother never tried to follow us.
Getting her to the barn we settled her into a stall. The barn was designed for horses, but this little girl fit right in. She became our bottle fed orphan. Our grandson usually gets the privilege of naming our animals, however this time I decided to choose the name. She would be called 'Grace'. Sometimes blessings from God come in unexpected packages.
Have you taken a lazy pill, and received a blessing anyway? Isn't God good?
Grace is on the left in this picture, following her mother and twin.
Grace in the stall
