“Please pray for the ranchers West River,” a member of our congregation said this morning when the pastor asked if there were any concerns folks wanted to share.

“I spoke with my son-in-law earlier this morning,” he went on to say. “He said a lot of folks out there have no idea where their cattle are. They’re lost. Or they’re dead. The snow was just too much… it’s going to be pretty tough going for them. A lot of loss.”

The Cowboy looked at me and just shook his head. We’ve been in touch pretty much every day with family out there getting an update. They’ve been snowed in at a Hospice Facility with the Cowboy’s grandmother.

“I never even thought about the cows,” he said. “That’s terrible. They don’t usually get as much as snow as we do here. It’s way more wide open. A blizzard like this can get pretty tough on livestock.”

We were talking with that same gentleman after church .. he said it sounded terrible West River right now for many. Especially for those with livestock. His family had told him, from what they could tell in many places, the cattle simply pushed through any fencing trying to find their way somewhere through the storms. But, the snow was so deep many either got stuck, lost or from what some were seeing, the cattle had essentially flipped over and remained where they had fallen.

Please pray for the ranchers .. they were the first of many mentioned this morning, that could use thoughts and prayers. And I know that was just within our one small congregation. Wishing the world a night of peace, of understanding, of silver linings somehow through any tragedies or challenges and renewed hope for better days ahead .. for warmer days ahead to melt the insane amount of snow dumped on part of our state and for as many cows as possible, to find their way back home.