Amari Turns One: A Story of Survival and Grace

Today marks a very special milestone on our farm — Amari, our beloved “house cow,” is officially one year old.

Amari’s story began in crisis. She was the sole survivor of an unexpected twin pregnancy in a first-calf heifer. Her sister presented frank breech, and despite intervention efforts, we lost her. Amari herself was dangerously close to death in those first hours. Her body temperature was so low it would not even register on a thermometer. By every practical measure, she should not have survived.

Through the steady guidance of a trusted friend — and a great deal of prayer and determination — we fought for her life hour by hour.

For nearly three weeks in the heart of February, Amari could not maintain her own body temperature. She lived inside our home during that time. For the first week, she stayed in the master shower for constant monitoring and easy cleanup. For the following two weeks, she graduated to a pen in my painting studio — a setup that worked surprisingly well thanks to concrete floors and close supervision.

When I look at her today, it is hard not to feel a deep sense of gratitude. She is now a bright-eyed, healthy young heifer with a gentle spirit and a strong will to live.

She will spend one more year growing and maturing with our weanling heifers — what we jokingly call “girl scout camp” — before she joins the adult herd and, Lord willing, our future milking string.

Stories like Amari’s are powerful reminders that stewardship often happens in the quiet, exhausting, uncertain moments — and that sometimes, against all odds, life wins.

“For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb… I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” — Psalm 139:13–14