The Calf, the Caregiver, and the God Who Sings Over Us

Out here at our home in Montana, I had one of those nights that turned into a sermon I didn't plan to preach. A young calf had wedged himself tight in a fence — and if I hadn't gone back to check the mineral bucket, he'd have been mountain lion food by morning. I cut the chain loose, he bolted off without so much as a "thank you," and I stood there on that hillside grinning like a fool, feeling lighter than I had in weeks.

It had nothing to do with caregiving — and that's exactly the point. Every caregiver needs something that lifts the soul, something that reminds us we're still alive, not just functioning. For me, it was freeing a calf. For you, it might be painting, gardening, music, or a quiet moment with a puzzle. These aren't hobbies — they're oxygen for the spirit.

I wrapped the show with Gracie's favorite hymn, This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made. We've sung it in hospital rooms and now here at home with the mountains out our window. It's not a children's song to us — it's a statement of faith when the day looks hard.

Zephaniah wrote, "The Lord your God is in your midst… He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing." That's the kind of God we serve — one who doesn't just command us to rejoice, but actually rejoices over us.

So that's my message this week: find your thing. Give yourself permission to breathe, to laugh, to live. Because the God who called you into this life is already singing over you.