My RA Ch. 02

Noel said," We have a couple hundred prayer warriors at our church. You could ask Anne to set up one for both schools, if you feel uncomfortable having people you do not know pray for you and your Dad just say the word and we will take you off the list."

"I am not sure yet Noel, leave me on it until I say 'No' I guess. I have a lot of stuff to process. "

Jacob got to the hospital not long after Noel did. "Jacob come quick, Buck is in ICU."

All three gathered around Buck's bed holding hands.

Buck addressed Jacob," They say my heart stopped for a few beats and that a pacemaker would help. I am too sick to have the surgery. Jacob, I have never been able to figure you out. I have never been a religious man, but I never interfered with letting my family to make their own decisions on that score.

"You have done things that no pastor I have ever seen do. You put your words into actions. I have been mulling that over the past few months sitting in the bed. I feel it is time for me to get with the program and make myself right with Him.

Jacob went through every point with Buck. Buck understood, asked Christ to forgive his sins, he said he finally believed that God will purify him because, he died on the cross for me.

Sarah went over and kissed her Dad on the forehead," I will see you when He calls for me Daddy. I am glad you will join Mom." They all just prayed and prayed.

Buck said," Sarah you have been stuck out on that farm for too long. Make a new family, one that will stick by you. These are good people, they go beyond caring. Do what you will with the ranch. I hope it could be a money maker for you. If it is a millstone for you, sell it. I rather see you happy than dreary because you are losing money or it become too much for you.

Sarah called Jacob to talk about a plan, he approved. Then she called Anne," Anne, I need your help. Can you and Miss Zoe come out to the farm early Sunday so we can ride to church?"

Sunday arrived and all three road into church and tied the horses up in the back. They brought the saddle bags in with them.

Jacob asked," Sarah could you do the reading today please? I think it might be good for you to do it."

Sarah nodded. When she mounted the stage she was embarrassed. Please excuse the way I am dressed, frilly dresses are not practical on a farm."

Jacob nodded to Anne and Zoe. They mounted the stage and soon Anne was grasping Sarah's right hand and Zoe the left. After Sarah did the reading she broke down.

Sarah said through sniffles," When my Dad went to the hospital the last time Noel called Jacob to activate the prayer chain. Dad will not be coming home to the farm. He will be going home to see my Mom. I have never named any of my horses, I thought it would be too hard if I made attachments. Right now I need attachments.

Zoe, Anne, I hope you do not mind, but I have taken the liberty of naming all of our horses. My horse is 'Beauty' the black one out back. The Palomino, the gold one, out back is Anne's horse named 'Friend' and the roan horse is Zoe's who is named 'Companion.' I am glad I have friends. It was just me and Dad for a long while. 'Beauty' was my Mom's horse. Anne, Zoe you have loved your horses so much you deserve to have them.

Zoe, Anne, and I rode in to church today on horseback, we brought a lot of carrots and apples so you can feed them after church." After church, everyone went outside and fed and petted the horses. The last service was cancelled, Sarah needed the people around her.

Anne and Zoe rode their horses back to the farm holding 'Beauty's' reigns. Noel and Jacob took Sarah to the hospital.

About at the half was point all three horses got aggravated at the same time. Anne said," His time had passed, he is home now." Zoe and Anne dismounted to say a prayer for their friend Buck.

Anne said," There is no way I am going to ride Sarah's Mom's horse, let's just put the horses away when we get there and stay the night. Sarah will go home with Noel and Jacob." Zoe nodded.

Sarah called Anne," Anne he is gone."

Anne said," He is with your Mom, he never will be gone. The horses told us of his passing. We are going to put the horses away and feed the chickens and bunnies and will stay the night, you go with Noel. Sarah how big is the farm?

"About 150 acres or so. Why do you ask?"

"Just thinking about ideas."

April finally lugged a huge box addressed to Zoe. "Hey Zoe, who do you know who lives in Orlando? I got this from the mail room."

Zoe tore into the box. "Look April, a tiny jacket with an upward facing horseshoe, to hold the good luck in, with the word 'Brownie' stitched into it." The clothes were extremely detailed and of the highest quality. 'Brownie' modeled every piece and the girls were having loads of fun. "Zoe what are these pieces for?" said April.

"They look like tack pieces horses wear, not bears."

Soon all was explained when April took out a unicorn from the box. The manager thought 'Brownie' needed a horse also, so why not go with a unicorn.

Zoe said," It will be named 'Freedom'." Zoe texted Joy. "'Freedom' and 'Brownie' are inseparable. Thank you so much."

A lot of research went into 'Freedom' everything 'Brownie' would need to take care of 'Freedom' was included.

Michelle got all the pictures of all the bears and labeled them with their names. Then she wrote a letter as a testimonial for the store in Orlando. The letter went something like this:

"Dear Reader:

Our bear story starts out with a three year old girl who got a bear and they were inseparable. After a very close call by her freshman roommate who almost died during a flood, she gave 'Bear' to her because she needed something close by that she could hug. Five people in the bear family got their bears because of grief from a loss of a loved one.

We at Northfield University have a select number of students and Moms who have to uphold to a certain rule. We have a set of nine bears (soon to add a horse) to be given to those who are hurting.

You have to be invited to be in the bear family. The owner is not allowed to buy her bear, it must be adopted. It must also have a bear name. The clothes are of the highest quality and it is very detail oriented.

We just give a bio of where the person lives and likes and dislikes. Some will be the same outfits as the others, but some are different to make the bear an individual. We let the seamstress dream big on a small scale. They seem to thrive on being given a chance to not being constrained. Once the entire wardrobe is finished we send the entire box to the hurting person.

Everyone needs something to hug. Consider buying custom made clothes for you or your children. The love you will receive will be beyond measure."

The store was beyond ecstatic. The seamstresses took great pride for the acknowledgment of their jobs. They loved working on bears. The manager framed the photos and the letter. They were not sure about the horse, but the bio will help them.

Joy approached Sarah and said," Sarah we, the members of our bear family, are all in agreement that you are the perfect candidate to join our bear family. We also agree that you would be more comforted by a horse rather than a bear.

We use our animals so we can be comforted the most in stressful times. We do not want to diminish your memories of your Mother by getting one like 'Beauty' so we want your input as to how you want one."

Sarah replied," Really Joy, I am so honored. I would like to give you some material that still has the scent of Mom on it. A horse blanket would be ideal. With her scent, one like 'Beauty' would be perfect."

Joy sent the shirt Sarah gave her along with the Bio of Sarah. A note that read "Do not clean. This shirt has the scent of her mother on it to keep her comforted. She wants a blanket made for the horse, maybe more made from it. 'Beauty' was her Moms horse (photo enclosed.) Could you try to find a horse about the same size of our bears?"

When the manager read the note and showed the photo to her seamstresses there was not a dry eye to be had. The emotional attachment was too great. No one seamstress could do this job, it had to be all of them. The manager would get the horse. Meanwhile, books about horses and their equipment was brought in.

They needed so many items, tack would not be enough. Some would have to make hay bales, carrots, apples etc. They needed to make just about everything that you find on a farm. Horses do not have the wardrobe that they gave the bears so they made up for it in other ways.

All the seamstresses being Mom's, had a strong emotional attachment to the job. In their eyes, this was job one, no matter how long it took. They all told the manager to take the money out of their paychecks, they would not hear about Joy being charged. This was truly a labor of love.

Several weeks later Sarah received an extra-large and heavy box. She called Joy and said all were invited to dinner at the farm, our table can fit twenty so bring all our friends. We can Skype call the rest when we open the box.

Joy called everyone she could think of. Then she called Molly's Mom to see if she could take Molly to dinner that night. Joy thought Molly would learn a lot from the experience. Her Mom agreed readily.

Sarah wanted Joy to call her back so she could plan the meal. When she found out Molly was coming the menu became easy to decide. Spaghetti with meatballs, French bread and lots of milk. Chocolate or vanilla ice cream with the obligatory whipped cream and cherries for desert.

Molly, David, Joy and 'Buddy' were the first to arrive. 'Buddy' went directly to Sarah with Molly following right behind.

Molly was thrilled to be with the grown-ups. Spaghetti with meatballs were her favorites. Molly's eyes grew big as saucers when she saw the ice cream come out. She never had real whipped cream before, it was so light and fluffy. Much better than the canned stuff, although Molly liked that also.

When it came time to open the box Sarah was in the center with Anne and Zoe on either side with 'Buddy' at her feet. The rest were scattered around the room as everyone got on Skype.

When Sarah opened the box she saw a letter. It contained a letter with the returned photo, the seamstresses had the original scanned and framed separately and also had a picture of the stuffed horse with the bears.

Dear Sarah,

"Your story affected all of us greatly. We all felt this job had to be the best job we ever done. We are all Mom's so every stich is full with love. I would have had a riot on my hands if I did not make this job one. I had to include everyone. We are sorry for your loss and all of us hope that 'Beauty' will be a comfort to you in the coming times. Knowing nothing about horses we had to all learn a lot. We got books and even called farmers to help us." All the seamstresses signed the letter.

Sarah just broke down, Anne and Zoe were comforting her in a split second. Molly went and got Miss Sarah some milk. Sarah then realized that her Mom was with her. In her mind, she was not showing her friends all of the creations that 'Beauty' acquired, she was showing her Mom.

Before everyone left Molly gave Miss Sarah an extra-long hug. Anne and Zoe decided to stay the night, in case they were needed.

Joy gave Sarah, Noel's phone number just in case she wanted to talk to someone. They talked for some time. Noel just had a way to talk to people. Sarah decided to go to both services, maybe listening to both will help, she would bring her new 'Beauty' with her.

Soon every child was bringing their bear or dolly to church with them. Jacob knew all Pastors needed to speak to the needs of their entire flock, not just the adults. Jacob asked," Noel how can I incorporate all the children's needs into my sermons while not alienating the adults?"

"That is easy dear. With all the stuff the kids are going through you could just stick to Love, Peace and family. I heard all the kids asked their parents about prayer."

"Really, if that is important enough for them to ask the question, then I think I should address it."

Jacob added," Noel if you see a child without their bear or dolly could you ask where it is, if they forgot it, offer to drive them home to get it. I consider all of them part of my church, they comfort the children and the children are part of my church."

That Sunday when Jacob started the service he announced," It is good to see all of you today especially the children. I like to see the children with their bears and dollies. Parents can you make sure they have them every week?

Some may frown upon them and think you are disrespecting God by having them with you. Remember God is in charge of everything that happens to us. If God did not want you to have your bear or dolly then you would not have it. So when you bring His gift into His house means you are honoring Him. Just like He brought your Mommy and Daddy together, He brought your bear or dolly to you."

The children were happy when they heard that. They did not want to dishonor God.

"Children, I heard you were asking about prayer. Prayer is very important for all of us. It is how we talk to God. If you have a problem or concern then you should pray about it. God is just waiting to hear from you.

If you hear someone is sick or hurt like Miss Joy, then you should talk to God about it. If you want to celebrate with someone about a good thing then you should pray to God to thank Him for that exciting thing that happened to you or a friend.

God does not just want to hear about sad things, He wants to hear about all the happy things that happen to you. You can think of God as your super best friend, always there for you when you are happy or sad. Wouldn't you want to tell your super best friend how happy you are? He would love to celebrate with you.

From time to time you will have a problem and you really need a lot of help because you just can't do it by yourself. Guess what, God is right there and He has the answer. Guess what, He brought your Mommies and Daddy's together. He wanted you to be with them. You should ask them for help, they might have that answer that God wants to give you.

You don't need to have a lot of schooling to pray, people have problems before they go to school. If you have problems then you need to ask God and your parents for help. I am guessing that if you have that problem you're Mommies and Daddy's probably had it also."

"Mommies and Daddy's you also have to ask God for help. How can you help your children if you do not have God on your side? You need to have Him as the cement for your family. God is waiting to hear from everyone. His Holy Spirit will give you guidance."

It was an abbreviated service, but it had deep meaning for the children. Lots of smiles. It was a load off the children's minds, they knew how to pray now. God was just waiting for them to talk to Him about anything.

Sarah, Anne and Zoe loved to race on the farm, it really was not a fair race, and 'Beauty' was always faster. The farmers had gotten together and set up a plan to run the farm. Everyone wanted Sarah to have a sense of normality.

Not having to worry about the business side took a lot of stress from Sarah. She trusted the older farmers to aid her with the farm. Sarah wanted to be in the loop about everything, she did not want to learn about things until after it was too late.

She took her Dads words to heart. She wanted to bring life back into the farm. She asked her friends that were paying dorm fees if they would like to come out to the farm to live. The commute would be long but well worth it. April and Zoe jumped at the chance. Zoe spent most of her free time there anyway so as her Mistress April decided it would be good to live at the farm.

Anne was undecided, classes were getting harder so she was spending more time at the library.

The decision was made to inseminate 'Beauty', her foal would be a part of Mom. April would be in charge of it and in time it would be hers.

Sarah's new family was coming together. Sarah asked God if she should go to college and what courses she should take. She asked Noel who deferred her to 'The Dean' as she did not know what the school had to offer.

Miss Alkaia, I want to have my classes tie into my farm so I can run it better. Maybe land management, or business or some other area that might be useful. She asked all four farmers what areas they thought she would benefit most.

Sarah called for a meeting at her farm which included Miss Alkaia, the four farmers and all her college friends plus Noel and Jacob. This meeting was to be a crossroads into her life. She will need all the support her friends can give her.

After dinner they all convened to the living room. She addressed the entire group," I have looked to see what South Hill and NFU had to in the way of courses, that is to say ranch management and business classes.

She addressed the four farmers," I will need to rely on you four the most. I have no experience. I would be an idiot if I didn't want to know how to run my ranch. I don't know how to fix a tractor, I don't know how to foal a calf, and I do not know how to get the best deals on supplies. I just plain don't know anything."

"I am willing to learn, and to get my hands dirty. This will have to be a class room and on the job training. There are four of you so perhaps I can learn from the best qualified for that problem while the other three work on other problems.

I am sure I will have to consult all four of you every day for a while. I want to find a way to pay you. Your advice will be invaluable to me so I want to give all of you a salary that will grow as the farm grows. The vet stuff will be the hardest for me."

"I think in order for the farm to grow I might need to get cattle or sheep or whatever or phase them in. I need your help to advise me on such matters. This is all way over my head right now. If it is better to learn on the farm, perhaps I can go part time to college."

"If a cow is sick, I want to know why and I want to know what to do to fix it. I want to be here when the vet is here so I can see what he does. I know I can't do everything and not everything is fixable. I want to be a hands on owner. I am used to hard work, but now with Mom and Dad both gone I am going to have to learn twice as fast."

"I will need support and prayers from all of you. I will be overwhelmed."

Farmer one said," I will take you up on your offer. Think about taking the winter and spring season off and just a class or two during summer. Winter is when we do long term planning and we can have weekly updates. The spring and summer is when the calves will foal, equipment will breakdown etc.

I applaud you for wanting to get so involved with the running of your ranch. It will be a lot of hard work and speaking for myself I think you are up to the challenge. I will help you in any way I can. However, I do draw the line if I am doing all the work and you are not. If you lose interest, then I lose interest. If you are actively involved, then I will be actively involved with helping you."

All of the farmers agreed to assist Sarah with her farm in the same way that farmer one described. The others agreed to help when they could with tasks. Jacob was the bread-winner so Noel had a lot of time on her hands.

Noel was excited, she loved working on the farm. Noel stated," I want to help all I can, I will sit with you and April if an animal is sick, I will rake the hay, feed the horses, milk the cows. If you are willing to learn then I can learn with you. The more jobs we can multi-task the easier it will be to run the place. It will be a lot of hard work, but we will learn a lot of lessons along the way. We will be stronger for it. By the way, you need a name for your ranch."