Saved

We had a couple of guests down on the farm this weekend (my favorite Grandma and her granddaughter), and the young one wanted to go search for a newborn calf. Sure enough we found one. He was lying on the ground away from the other cows and we did not see his mother approaching us as we walked closer and closer. He was so fresh – probably born within an hour or two of our arrival. When we got within a few feet of his position, he struggled to his feet (I am sure it was the first time he had stood up) and clumsily tried to move away. He was only a few feet from the woods and entered through some brushy scrub, running into small bushes and trees. As I got closer I could see that he was not well, and as we watched his eyes, and the tilt of his head, Grandma was the first to say, “he is blind.” He did move around a bit – in circles seemingly unable to understand where he was – passing within inches of the three of us without any acknowledgment of our presence.

I got close enough to touch him (he was still wet) but he tried hard to get away. We backed off and hoped his mother would come for him.

Several hours later we elected to return to the area and see if he had been successful in finding his mother and her care. But, there he was, lying within a few feet of where we had seen him earlier, and there were no other cows around. As we walked over to him, he did not move. I reached to touch him and he did not get up or try to escape my touch. We had brought a rope (and the truck) and I slipped it around his head and one front leg. I was afraid he would try to run away, but he was so weak. . .he could not. I picked him up, put him in the truck, and asked my friend to drive us to the barn. Arriving there, we carried him to a small pen. As my friends cuddled and petted him, I secured a bucket of water and we began the process of introducing him to that by putting our hands in the water and touching his lips. Soon he was licking our hands, sucking at our fingers, and after he found enough strength to stand, he was able to take a little water from the bucket.

I had contacted the owner of those cows to tell her the news. She said she would come that evening (Friday) and take him to bottle feed. When she came, I carried him to her car, put him in the back of her small hatchback, and away they went.

Saturday morning I learned that she had him on a bottle and he was eating well. He had found a companion in an old mare she owns, and was moving around well.

My friends and I rejoiced that we were able to save him from whatever fate might have come his way without someone to care.

It was then I realized that what we did is what we do. Not with cows, but with people. Seeing their spiritual blindness, taking enough time to care, helping them find the Savior, and rejoicing as they begin the journey to spiritual maturity.

Isn’t life grand!!