If you happen to get a chance, would you pray for a struggling farm boy?
I have had a pretty rough month here on the farm. Some of you may have heard about Tenacity (the goat that I did an emergency C-section on), she and her three babies all died. My best goat remaining had two male babies that I can't do anything with. And after fighting an infection for a week, my Twist died last night. Our family has raised goats for almost 7 years and have never lost an animal until this past October. Now we had two die within 3 weeks. Last night, while I was sitting out in the barn with Twist, discouraged and confused, I was thinking to myself What are you trying to teach me Lord?...Why are you allowing all my goats to die?...What is Your will in all this?...Do You want me to stop raising Goats?...
In the silence I heard His gentle whisper down in my soul,...Trust. I immediately thought of Proverbs 3:5 "TRUST in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
How fitting. I didn't (perhaps don't) understand why all my goats are dying, but God said Trust. Not trust if things are going well or if your life circumstances are the way you want them to be.
I believe that God has a perfect plan, I know that God is holding my life in the palm of His hand, and I trust that God knows best. It isn't for me to understand what is going on in my life. Being a Christian is about following the Lord no matter where He leads. I was filled with such a peace knowing that I am simply called to rest in Him and He will give us the grace I need. Although I don't know what is going to happen next, I can and will trust Christ no matter what! Keep me in your prayers!
It is easy to trust God in prosperity, but true faith is trusting the Lord even in adversity.
20 comments:
Ahh I can TOTALLY relate to this. Our family has been raising cattle for almost 17 years now and we've lost quite a few to various reasons over the years.. had a market steer drown because he fell through the ice of a pond and then a couple others to various reasons. Well this is our third year raising cow/calf and then we;re keeping the heifers and breeding them in two years and then the bulls, we use for market steers after they turn around a year old. Last year, we lost four calves in 24 hours and it was SO hard. But we just stopped everything after we lost the last calf and started to sing the Doxology and praised God. It was so incredible but it hurt to watch those mamas cry for their babies that would never take another breath. We just lost a cow and her calf a couple weeks ago and then just lost another calf last week. Then the first calf that was born in 2011 got stepped on by two cows at once and really messed up his shoulder. I can totally relate to the feelings that you were saying and I'm praying for you! Us ranch people have a whole different way of life that is really character building and mighty in the faith department.
I am so very very sorry for your loss. I know how difficult it is to lose animals we love so so so much. They truly teach us to love and be loved. I am very sorry at least we have memories that last forever.
Praying for you!
-Emily
Praying, brother! It seems like a lot of us are learning trust lately in God! I guess it shows how we are all family and fighting together!!
In Christ,
Rachel
I'm praying for you, Josh. Life can be so hard but Jesus always wins our battles!
In Christ,
LindseyMarie
(And on another note, you did an amazing job in MMSL. I was in Little Women last Dec. and my sister is a lead in AGYG. HPA is such a blessing, isn't it?)
I will keep you in my prayers as well... I am sorry for your loss, and I know what you are going through. We have been raising goats ever since I can remember, and I can tell you I have lost my share of "Favorite" goats... The first one was back when I was 9 or 10, my favorite goat got really sick, which we eventually figured out was selenium defficentcy, and she was getting better as we gave her small injections of selenium. She ended up dying as the result of an accedental overdose of selenium, and I remember I cried for a couple of hours that night... My heart goes out to you!
Keep trusting in Him,
Andrew B.
Sorry Josh! Amen to that last statement!
Dear Josh! God bless you brother! My family prayed for your family when y'all went through the ordeal with Tenacity - I was so proud of the way you handled things, knowing too, how hard it was for all of you.
I'm so sorry you lost Twist too - the Lord does these things for reasons we often do not know about until later (or sometimes never) but He always knows how it hurts.
And of course, as you said, these seasons in our lives are /always/ a lesson in Trust.
I am/will be praying for you. Keep Looking Up!
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
-Kyrie<><
Having raised animals as well, I know what it's like to lose an animal.
Will be praying for you and your family Josh.
Grace and peace,
Kelsey
I am preying for you,Jenna,and the rest of your family...I too have lost many animals,goats,poltery,cats,and others...
YHVH bless you all,
Kiera
Josh, I will be praying for you.Almost 4 years ago now, I lost 3 of my beautiful does within weeks of each other. I was so overwhelmed with the grief, and my mind constantly ran through the "what ifs". I was trying to blame myself. And that's when I realized that my pride was in the way of healing and growing. We can care for these animals with the best we can give, and yet so much is only in *His* control.Even my goats had to be given to God, when I gave Him my life. God, cares about His creation, He hurts with us in times like this. You take wonderful care of your animals, Josh. *Trusting* is the most difficult part,and you know that.
In Christ,
Anna
I'm praying for you...right now we walk by faith, not sight. Right?
Love you~
I'm really sorry! I have been going through the EXACT same thing (only with dogs :) I had to sell one in January (although that one was my fault) and my other died somewhat unexpectedly about a week ago. Now I'm left with the old dog I can't show. Keep trusting in God, it is the best possible thing. The moment we stop depending on Jesus is when the waves of life become overwhelming (like Peter). Also although it may not be fun, God always teaches and grows us through our trials. With the first dog I had to sell, I have learned an invaluable lesson in prayer. Although the experience was and is painful, now I'm kind of glad it happened. I'll be praying God shows you His marvelous plan through all of this. Keep hanging trusting in Him!
-Kristin Yerke
So sorry to hear of all your losses, yet I am impressed with your Godly attitude! You have a good ear for the Lord. We can count all things loss for the great and excellent things God gives...and takes away. He truly does know best! I will be praying, gladly, for God's peace and joy despite your pain. We don't always know what God has for us but His works all thing for the good of those who are in Him and called according to His purposes! God Bless you young man. Continue to follow Him and listen for His wonderful and mighty voice.
Love in Christ,
Lydia Hoppman
BTW: I LOVE your header!!!!!!
Josh, I am so sorry to hear of your losses. I can totally relate to how you feel. My family and I have been raising goats for a long time and have had times when we lost many goats. It is rough, but you'll get through it. Stay strong.
Suriyah
I'm so sorry for your losses, I know the pain.
I've been raising goats ever since I was 7, and it never gets any easier.
I always raise, train and show dogs, and not too long ago I lost my best gal, and she was my only chance with the certain bloodline I was wanting to work with. Back to the drawing board. *sigh*
Part of the price of having a God instilled love of animals, I suppose.
Praying things go better for you.
P.S. Nice to meet other homsechoolers out there. :)
Praying God's encouragement for you in your loss. You are absolutely on the mark as to it being about your faith in God which will be tried and proven by circumstances. Keep trusting Him! Thanks for encouraging me to do so. By the way, love your music.
Good Afternoon Joshua,
I found your blog through the blog of a friend of mine. I just recently got back into blogging (I had stopped for a while,
but recently felt led to start back up again). A similar thing happened to my family a few years ago, although it was not
with goats but with chickens. We had ordered some chicks in the spring and in the fall, when they had fully grown, some of
them just began to die for no explained reason.
The proverb you shared is such an encouragement. We must not "lean unto our own understanding," but "acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our paths" (Proverbs 3:6). We don't always know what God has in store, but how can we possibly go wrong if we follow this scripture?
Josh
Josh...just look at all of these comments here trying to give you encouragement and hope! That is great. God is good all the time...especially during our trials.
I admire you and your faith.
God Bless You!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
We are praying. May Jesus bless your losses! He knows what He is doing. Just trust Him!
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