02/20/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/19AN2CenJJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
This morning, I read updates from ranchers watching wildfires move across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The words of these ranchers carried a weight that only lived experience can hold. Not panic or drama, just honesty of people who have stood in the path of dangerous fires before and know the cost.
For many of us, the closest we’ve ever come to a raging wildfire is a burn ban in our county or the faint smell of smoke on the wind.
But for others, it is the sound of flames moving faster than expected. It is loading trailers, counting cattle, and praying the fire turns before it reaches their home.
For ranchers, watching momma cows circle their calves as smoke thickens is not just heartbreaking. It is personal.
Those animals were tended through drought years. Fed from bottles. Watched through long nights when survival felt uncertain. They represent years of planning, sacrifice, and hope, not short-term profit.
And still, when the smoke clears, you will find ranchers walking blackened ground, already thinking about how to begin again.
The reality is heavy right now. Communities have been hit hard. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned. Homes are gone. Firefighters have been injured protecting families, livestock, and land.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has declared an agricultural emergency as resources begin mobilizing to help farmers and ranchers recover.
But beyond the headlines, this is about people carrying responsibility that most never see. Ranchers, families, firefighters, volunteers… Neighbors helping neighbors when everything feels uncertain.
My heart aches for all of it…
Please pray with me…
Jesus, we ask Your covering over every rancher, family, and firefighter standing in the path of these wildfires. Protect the cattle and wildlife. Strengthen those working long hours in smoke and danger. Bring endurance where hearts are weary and peace where fear has settled in. Guard the land and bring relief where it is needed most. Remind every person walking through this that they are not alone.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
~LaurieAnna Wilson
