They are not my two-year-old heifers. They are big, healthy heifers, and there are only two of them. There is a young lady who works from home who will check them if they start to show signs. But all day long, for several days, I felt like I should drive 50 miles to the ranch to check the heifers.

So I made an appointment for a haircut in town. I would just swing by the ranch to say hello on my way home. Then I could see the heifers without it seeming like I was trying to be in charge of anything.

When I got to the house, no one was there. Pretty soon I heard someone holler so I walked around back. There was my son Pete and his young lady, all smiles.

“Butters just had her calf!” they told me. “It’s a bull. He’s perfect.”

We walked over to the little pasture where the cows are. We sat on the bank and watched the new mother tending to her little calf as the sun went in and out of the spring clouds and the meadowlarks sang.

We may not get the miracle we have been asking for. My son continues to battle his rare and aggressive cancer like a warrior from the Old Testament, but it may not be God’s plan to simply remove the tumors and restore my boy to perfect health. As I sat with him, I reached out and took his giant hand in mine. I held his hand and watched the cows. I thanked the Lord, from the bottom of my heart, for a perfect moment with my kid. And I thanked Him that, in His wisdom and mercy, He has given us so many little miracles that have added up to this: Pete is with us. He has strength and courage; he keeps fighting. He has the finest oncology team in the world, and he has beautiful things that make him happy, like a little bunch of black cows and a brand-new brocky-faced calf.

Thank you, Father.

johnna

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17