We are now the proud owners of two pygmy goat nannies. This is the story of how one of these goats, the black one, came to be named "Halal." Halal is a Hebrew word for praise to God that translates "to be clamorously foolish before the Lord." Her name is quite fitting.
Patrick finished fencing in our front yard last Saturday, the 6th, and quickly went to pick up the first of two goats we were planning for that fence. This goat, black and white, was about a year old, and nameless.
Before Patrick left, we spoke of what we would name our goats. We had settled upon Aretha and Gladys, while we spoke on his way home, and the black goat would be named Aretha.
We got her in the fence, letting her run around, when suddenly she found the gate. Within a split second, she had squeezed through the opening and was running full out around our house. I was holding Clarence in my arms, but Patrick went off at a full run after her.
The area we live in is extremely rural, with farmlands, fenced pastures, and untouched woods. The odds of us finding her did not seem great. I went to speak with our neighbors, give them the heads up on our missing lady. Patrick closed the gate and got in the truck and started driving down the road. I began praying, and for some reason, I opened the gate back up. I said, "Here, Lord. Here is my faith. I know you can turn that little goat's tail right around and walk her back in this fence."
I prayed fervently, speaking out loud, walking around our house, for God to bring that goat back. Patrick was beyond upset, blaming himself, and it felt like a dark cloud had descended over our home. But the way Patrick pulled into our driveway, I knew, he had not found her. Yet.
A neighbor a couple houses down had seen her running by, but didn't manage to catch her. Both of us upset and forlorn, Patrick began to fix the gate. Here was another show of our faith. I kept praying. Hard. Then I promised God if He would only bring that goat back somehow, we would name her Halal. And I would tell everyone why we called her Halal.
While I was nursing Clarence, about an hour since we first lost Halal, Patrick suddenly drove off in the truck. Later, he would tell me God told him to go driving one more time. I began praying and crying, and the Spirit rose up in my heart. My phone rang a few moments later and Patrick said,"Baby, open up the gate, I'm bringing home our goat."
Then I truly began to praise His Name. I was being clamorously foolish for God.
When Patrick pulled back in to the driveway, Halal tied up in back, we both were smiling like fools.
As he drove down the road, the same neighbor that had seen her before flagged him down. She said she kept hearing the goat and thought she had gone across the street to another neighbor who happened to have horses and a barn.
Patrick pulled in there (and met another of our neighbors) and the lady had been getting ready, about to go driving to see who had lost a goat! Halal was in one of her horse stalls, eating hay and chilling out.
Praise be to God!
The next day, Patrick picked up our other goat, Little Miss Liberty, born on the 4th of July this year.
Instead of calling her Gladys, we decided to just keep her name as "Liberty," as the farm we bought her from called her. Both goats seemed to have already been named before we got them. Both girls are doing great, and we love having goats. Truly the physical start to Johnson Acres!
You may find it silly that I prayed over a goat coming home. And that I believe God brought that goat back to us. But I do believe that, with all my heart. Without God, that goat would have disappeared or been eaten by a dog or who knows what else.
Why did God let the goat escape, you may also ask. God doesn't make bad things happen. But God has a plan. And while I was asking Him the same thing, He told me
"A miracle can only happen if there is a REASON for it to happen."
It was a miracle that Halal came back. Our day was 100x better because we had been blessed. And that never would have happened if her little black head hadn't pushed through our gate.
Thank you, Jesus, for ALL that You do!
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