You’re Not a Cow. You’re a Buffalo.

I’m sitting across from a friend I haven’t seen in a while. You know how those first few minutes go—rapid-fire updates, quick laughs, filling in the gaps of time lost. But then, her tone shifts.

She begins to share a story I never knew about her. And as she speaks, I find myself leaning in, eyes widening, trying to wrap my head around the sheer magnitude of what she’s been through.

I watch as her eyes flicker between past pain and present strength. Her voice, steady yet laced with the weight of what she has endured, makes me hold my breath. This isn’t just a story—it’s survival. It’s victory. It’s proof that some storms don’t break you; they make you unshakable.

On the outside, she’s the picture of confidence—poised, strong, seemingly unshaken. But that strength wasn’t handed to her; it was earned. Behind that resilience is a journey—one paved with loss, patience, grief, and battles that shook her to her core.

When we parted ways, one thought hit me like a bolt of lightning:
"My goodness, women are made of some tough stuff."

And that thought hasn’t left me since.

They Kept Moving Forward

Over the past few months, I’ve had conversations with so many women—each sharing stories of grief, discouragement, and trials that would leave most people curled up in the fetal position, calling it quits. But you know what they all had in common?

They kept moving forward.
They fought on.
They survived.
They trusted God.

But survival wasn’t just about making it through. It was about fighting for joy, for peace, for the next step. They trusted God when the path seemed impossible, when the answers didn’t come, when faith was the only thing left to cling to.

And somehow, He made a way.

The Buffalo Mentality

One friend told me something her mother once said: "You are like a buffalo."

At first, she laughed, wondering if this was her mother’s loving way of calling her stubborn. But then she explained:

"Buffalos see a storm coming, and they don’t run. They stand firm and walk straight through it. Cows, on the other hand, take one look at the storm and run in the opposite direction—only to get caught in it anyway."

And she was right.

Every woman I’ve spoken to—despite the emotional rollercoaster, the heartbreak, the impossible situations—walked through the storm. They didn’t crumble. They didn’t surrender. They faced it head-on and kept going.

It wasn’t easy. Many times, they felt discouraged. But they didn’t let the storm define them. They moved forward anyway.

God’s Promise in the Wilderness

But how do you keep walking when everything inside of you wants to give up? When the road ahead looks barren, and you wonder if there’s even a way forward?

God answers that question in Isaiah 43:18-19:

"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and paths in the wasteland."

This passage is a reminder that even in the wilderness—even when everything feels lost—God is still working, moving, making a way forward.

These women, despite the wilderness and the sorrowful moments, stayed steadfast and found new possibilities.

Women Are Built Different

Women are built with an unshakable resilience—an endurance that defies logic.

Life throws the unthinkable at them, moments so extreme they should have shattered. But instead?

They rise.
They find strength in God.
They find strength in their community.
They find strength in a hug, a conversation, in the quiet whispers of encouragement from the ones who love them.

And they don’t just survive. They conquer.

Buffalos Don’t Break

So when life rages like a storm, and the wind howls at your door, don’t shrink back.  Stand tall. Move forward. Face it.

Because you? You were made for this.

You are not fragile.
You are not alone
You are not easily shaken.
You are tough as a buffalo.

And buffalos?  They don’t break.