Lucky

Lucky arrived recently on a warm summer evening.  “That must be the goat,” my daughter said, walking out the door as a car pulled up.  We had finished our chores for the day.  All twenty animals were settled in for the night.  With the Lord’s help, and the help of volunteers, our small farm was running smoothly. When a friend asked if she and her family could bless us with another goat, we were thrilled. She found a listing for a sweet female goat a couple of hours away. She and her dear kids went on a road trip to find us the perfect new goat for the farm. She was shocked when she arrived and found the sweet little goat named Lucky living inside a house owned by very troubled people. Lucky shared the house with a few other goats, as well as 20 dogs! Lucky had no food or water. The family bought her, and left, heading straight to our farm.

In the morning, we took a closer look. It appeared that Lucky had not been lucky at all.  She was in very rough shape.  As I heard her labored breathing, and noted her matted fur, my eyes filled with tears.  I felt so sorry for her.  What kind of neglect was this?  My daughter noticed my distress.  “Are you crying?” she asked.  I swallowed a time or two and shook it off.  The summer campers would arrive soon, and my daughter was teaching a horseback riding lesson in a couple of minutes.  We gave Lucky a pail of fresh water and a nice pile of hay.  She smiled up at us through the large dog crate, which was the only option we could think of to separate her from the other animals until she was seen by the veterinarian.  An appointment was scheduled for later in the day.  We went about our morning work.

“Lord, what is up with Lucky?” I prayed as I cleaned the horse paddock.  “How can we help her?”  He gave me an idea.  I would gather the children around Lucky’s crate, and we would pray for her.  Then, we would imagine how God sees her, and draw a picture, or write a story about it.   

Lucky had lacerations, and her fur was missing in spots.  Bones protruded from all sides.  Her belly was swollen, and hanging low.  Her voice was raspy, and her breathing was heavy.   I walked behind the seated children and noticed their drawings.  In one, Lucky was a healthy, round animal smiling up from underneath a beautiful rainbow.  In another picture there was an angel in the sunny sky looking down on her.  The words “Lucky is healed in the name of Jesus” were written on the bottom of the page.  Lucky was holding a cone in the next picture, with the caption: “I can run and jump around in my new home! And eat snow cones.”  After reading a story about being adopted into the family of God, and how it can change everything to belong to Jesus, we prayed together.    

Later that day, the vet asked about Lucky’s background.  We were able to tell him the few details that we had learned.  He advised us that the reason her stomach was so terribly hard and bloated was because she had probably been eating plastic bags, carpet, trash, or whatever else she could find.  Yet, we had good news for the children the following day.  Lucky would fully recover once she ate lots of nourishing food, and had a few more baths.   She had escaped just in time.   She was pretty lucky.  But were we?  It seemed she had lice, and fleas, just to name a couple of her ailments.  

Our friend took a trip to the local supply store, and came back with all sorts of remedies.  We bathed our sweet girl while she ate fresh greens from the yard.  We cringed as we felt each one of the bones just below her fur.  She stood still while we worked, smiling up at us every once in a while.  Her light brown eyes were peaceful as she munched on leaves and grass.   Would she make it?  The Lord spoke Ezekiel 37 into our spirit and we spoke them over her:  “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. … And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”  

Lucky has added a lot of work to our already busy days.  All the animals have been treated to keep them healthy.  Lucky still needs special care every day.  I think I teared up when I saw her because I, too, have had times in my life when my bones were dried up, when my hope was gone, and when I needed a fresh breath of life.  I am still so very thankful for family members and friends who came alongside and gave me a Word, and how that Word breathed life into me. There are times now, in this world, when it seems we are cut off, when our feet feel stuck in the miry clay of the earth.  It is more important than ever to breathe life into each other.  We are indeed blessed to have Lucky join our Glory Hill Farm family. Despite how dry and hard things might look in the natural, God sees everything so differently!  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 TPT

If you feel inclined to help Lucky and our other animals with veterinarian bills and other expenses,  please use the “donate” button at www.gloryhillfarm.org.  We thank you, and they do, too. 

~Jennifer