Sunday, February 12, 2006

The Hard Stuff

As many of the bloggers linked from here have stated, farm life isn't always easy. There are good days and there are hard days. The temptation is to paint a rosy picture but I also feel that people need to hear the hard stuff. Yesterday was a very hard day. My 12 year old walked his very pregnant Pyr at about 7 am. As he brought her back in the house, she vomited and collapsed, comatose.... There was a mad scramble to reach the vet, dress and get her into the car, she was breathing but unconscious.... Within 5 minutes she was dead. We also lost all the puppies. The vet believes there was a uterine tear and she bled to death internally. There was nothing we could have done. My son, Josiah, has the heart of a farmer...he wants to run this farm one day. He is never happier than when we are out working together, working with animals and all the other things that farming entails. He also loves the Lord with all of his heart. I believe that the enemy wants to destroy his vision, his joy and his love of farming. It seems that it is always his favorite chicken, goat, cat, dog that either disappears or dies, and not from lack of care on Josiah's part. He is a diligent child and a good steward. I believe that the enemy has targeted this child. Yesterday was spent in many hours of snuggling and praying through this. We talked about the enemy and how he steals and we have asked God to demand compensation. Josiah understands that the enemy wants to discourage his love for farming and for the animals and he is determined that Satan will not have victory in this area. We buried Snowball outside of his window under a small Maple tree. His thoughts are that it will shade her someday. We have planned to plant a small flower bed around it this spring and fill it with white flowers....he plans to call it Snowball's Garden. He wants to put a stone bench in it eventually where he can go and pray when the tree grows tall. It will be his reminder of the battle to be waged against the enemy and of the victory available through Jesus Christ our Saviour. I believe that Josiah sees it as a symbol of his stand against the enemy....a battle arena...I am confident that he will win in Christ. His older brother, whose Pyr is also pregnant, has offered him the pick of the litter. We are praying for a safe delivery that results in a healthy Mom and pups. Today is a better day...peace reigns in our home. Hope is never lost when you have Christ. There are valleys but you are never alone in them. Many important lessons were learned yesterday, our faith increased and we have hope for the future. We praise God that He is ever faithful, gracious and merciful to us.

5 comments:

  1. Oh no, Cheri! I'm so sorry. I'll be praying for Josiah.....:( I remember as a child the gut-wrenching pain of losing a beloved pet. What a blessing, though, to have grown in faith through this dark valley. It sounds like Josiah is on his way to becoming a mighty man of God. The Lord is indeed full of grace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How awful, I'll be thinking of all of you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my, I stopped by to see if there was good news about the new puppies and am greatly dismayed to read what has happened. I'm sorry for your loss. My condolences to your family and Josiah especially.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so sorry! How sad. My prayers are with Josiah and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Praying for Josiah. May God comfort you during this loss!!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails