Well, I thought it only right to come back on here and give an update on the condition of the "sick nubian" God has entrusted me with.
In short, she is doing wonderful! As of Sunday morning (before I received any response on here, and with out any drugs or even herbal tonics) she has fully recovered, her temp. is normal, her appetite is strong, her stool is pure pellets (berries, or what ever they are called), and she is off and running with the kids having a good ole time forgeting the last few days.
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In LONG, If you want the full report, read below. It is the short explanation of how I got the answer. If you are not offended by truth, and consider yourself a thinker, read it and see if you don't find something of value.
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First off, I mentioned that I have little experience with goats, although this is certainly true, I do have experience with animals and I have been blessed to have occasion to learn a fair bit on the subjects of aqua culture, hydro ponics, anerobic digestion, fermentation, and a few other seemingly un-related subjects. All of these things were learned out of a desperate need to know, not curiosity. When my health, on several occasions was put in danger and I had no $ to go about things the common medical route, I was put in a position of proving whether or not I actually had faith in the God that created me. His Word says much, in fact it says Everything, that we need to know. True faith is not blind or ignorant, but it is indeed very scary. He showed me that I could trust Him now just as those in the Bible did (or didn't). There are many examples of both. If God is what He said He is, then he is a Good provider. To be a Good provider, He has to plan ahead for the coming needs and/or troubles.
He makes it very clear that He developed a plan of salvation (provision to forgive sin, which He hated, and yet knew would come) long before there ever was any sin. If you study the Bible close enough you will learn that everything that is spiritual(eternal) is a mirror of everything that is physical (temporal), this is so that we can learn all that is necessary, and thus willful ignorance becomes sin. Since He made a plan to forgive sin (give life) before there was sin, and since all pain, suffering, sickness, and death came as a result of sin, then He has to have provided a plan to give and keep physical life and health as well in order for this mirror and pattern to remain true. This is why He can be called The Great Provider.
The problem is that we have gone so long with out learning from Him, and as Proverbs and Romans says, we have become so smart (depending on our own knowledge) that we have become stupid (this is my paraphrase, however, your bible will say it close enough to this that you won't disagree). The Sun, Wind, Rain, and Soil all help decay the same object that they recently helped give life. So, the issue should always be the source of life, both spiritual (eternal) and physical (temporal) life.
All that to say that there are two issues that must be weighed in the matter of health. (1) Did God indeed know what He was doing, when he created it all?(He said when He finished it all, He looked and saw that it was all Good) Did He get befuddeled when sin entered the picture and everything started getting sick and dieing? (He said He is not the author of confussion) Did He already have the cure and sustanance in place? (He says He did, both spiritually and physically) Is He willing to teach us if we ask? ( He says come and ask of Me, and I will give abundantly)
(2)Do we actually have any faith in what He says? do we believe He is who He says He is? Faith is defined as the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, and the EVIDENCE (PROOF) of things unseen. In order for us to have faith in God,we must know His way, and then live in it. In this situation we must know His design, and then trust in and abide in it. We are NOT smarter than God! Not you, me, the Government, the doctors or the scientist. Faith says we will trust His ways not anyone elses, though that does not justify ignorance or what is wrongly refered to as "blind faith" (there is no such thing).
The end of this is that I have been cured of a number of very real illnesses by simply praying that God would teach me about His design and creation, so that I could live properly with-in the guidelines He laid out. When I read where the bible says there is nothing new under heaven, I believed it, that meant the answers are available to us still today. The more you understand God and the more your goal is to glorify Him, the more you will understand how God's great big puzzle of life fits together. An extremely extensive, exciting and interesting subject.
I was reminded by a good freind of the benifit of baking soda to an upset stomach, and the importance of keeping the flora up in her digestive system (so I gave her Kefir and Probios, next time I will just use Kefir and Yogurt). Although this kept her flora up and the food digesting well, the problem was still intact.
I found an old bottle of Ivermectin and a freind reminded me that "I guess sometimes we need drugs". This was the blessing I was looking for. Now, I had to question if indeed "sometimes we NEED drugs" or if indeed God was righteous in NOT giving the drugs to the last 5000 + years worth of people who have roamed earth with the same problems. This created a real difficulty for me. Do I believe God made a plan and provision, do I have faith in His way, will He indeed teach me if I ask????
Immediately the Holy Spirit gave me the words to pray. "He is NO God... who can not both heal your goat AND teach you how to care for her. Since You are indeed God then I KNOW that You can both teach me and heal her. I ask You please do both, for Your Word says that a righteous man careth for the life of his animals. Though, if You do or if You don't will not change my trust in You."
I knew very well, I had to put the Ivermectin back (I did NOT use any), and that if He taught me nothing else, then she could be dead soon (by Sat. night she looked bad).
Suddenly I remembered some of what I had learned with the subjects I mentioned earlier as "seemingly un-related", and ...
The goat got several doses of copper, and a small bucket of (what I would think to be high in copper) bananas (grown in my back yard and watered by my pool which uses oxygen and copper instead of chlorine). This was it. I prayed over her, and went to bed. By morning she was on her feet ready to be milked. Her temp. dropped to normal. Her appetite returned powerfully. Her stool was totally normal. She was drinking good again, over half the bucket over night. This morning, her milk level was almost back to normal already.
There is much more to explaining what all I have learned here in this situation. But one thing is for sure. God is both the first and last place to go for answers. He will teach those who diligently seek Him. If you are not ready to die before turning to someone else for an answer, you don't really have any faith in Him. "With out faith, It is impossible to please God!" Hebrews 11.
These can seem to be hard sayings and a hard way, but they are wonderful beyond explanation.
Before any one gets upset or offened, go, get a Bible, and bow yourself before the Holy One and ask Him to show you if He is real. Be sincere and ready to listen. Read, read, read, and don't stop until you have been found of Him. If you are real and determined to find Truth, you "may" get your feelings hurt by all the things God says about you in His word(until you admit they are true), however, He has the answer to this too.
In the end, Life is not about you!
He is Life, all is about Him!
