Lazarus

It ain’t over till it is over. I know this. I forget this sometimes. I need reminding. God reminded me of this this week.

There are times when I know what to expect. Life teaches lessons. As we gain experience in certain areas, we tend to think we know what is coming next. We get good at reading the signs and living our lives with the knowledge that we have things pretty well figured out. That is me. I like the predictability of the world God has given us to live in. I like that I can have expectations and be fairly certain they will be met. Sometimes this predictability is harsh, but still, it is comfortable because it is familiar. 

Ok so what is my point here? Well, as strange as it sounds, I have a dead calf in the barn that isn’t dead. Ya go figure that one. So here is the deal... we have been doing this calving stuff for going on 30 + years, so I kinda know what to expect, I know what calves need to survive, and I sadly know what a dying calf looks like. I also know that at some point when a calf is very sick there isn’t much a person can do to change the outcome. The laws of nature are pretty set and they don’t budge much. Unless God decides to blow them aside.

Lazarus is in the barn with his mama, I named him Lazarus after I decided the name ‘dead calf’ wasn’t suiting him much. He had the misfortune to be born on Monday, 5 long days ago, to a mama with an udder that requires us to milk her before her calf can get his mouth around her teats. I was in Fargo at this time. Usually we do this calving thing as a team, but our daughter is expecting her first baby and was having contractions so of course I hit the door leaving my hubby and his team of one to take care of business. Well this cow has had this problem previously and unbeknownst to us she lost a quarter of her udder last year. This quarter has the visual look of being nursed down. My loving hubby saw the baby nursing and thought, good, he is on her, I have time and will get her in on Wednesday. 

Wednesday morning came and the calf was not doing so well, in fact he was doing so poorly it seemed he was dead. Upon further investigation it was found that no, he was still alive, but down flat out. Not a good sign for any calf. Hubby got the cow in along with the babe and proceeded to perform the needed task. He then gave some milk to the baby and though this is not going to end well. I arrived home that day around 3 in the afternoon to the sight of baby with eyes closed, ears droopy, and a mouth as cold as ice, again all signs of a calf who is fast checking out. There is a well known fact amongst ranchers, a calf needs “first milk” within the first 24 hours to survive. If they don’t get this, they don’t live. Lazarus has been without for at least 48 hours now. 

I fed the calf, he wouldn’t take much, only a few swallows, then resumed his flat out death position. I guessed he would be dead by the 10 o’clock check. To my surprise he wasn’t, he was still flat out, still breathing shallow, but alive. I figured by 2 we would not be waiting on him any longer. Hubby checked at 2 and said the calf had moved. I assumed he just did not know where he was and missed him. By 5 hubby told me I needed to go feed my dead calf. Wow.

What I haven’t told you yet is probably the most important part... the part where God and I had a conversation about this calf. When I first saw him, as I was feeding him for the first time, I prayed for him. I acknowledged the fact that he was as good as dead, and that he wasn’t ours anyway, but Gods. I gave this calf back to God. I promised if he lived we would give all the proceeds from his sale to Him. Specifically to Klove, the radio station that plays music all over the world and is supported by listeners. Well it looks like Klove is gonna get some more support and God is getting all the Glory.