Three lessons from a rooster, a grain scoop, and a hard August
Many of you might be wondering… why can’t she just let this go and move on? Well, I have to tell you something: I spent a lifetime letting things happen and then burying them—shoving them aside and sweeping them under the rug. I spent a lifetime feeling like I was too much and, at the same time, not enough. And as an adult, I’d had enough. I spent so much time unraveling the lies that led me to beg for approval and believe that crumbs of affection were all I deserved. The 2025 journey meant using the tools I learned in counseling, watching others walk out their faith in front of me, and learning to live my own faith in a real, down-to-earth way. Slowly, I began gaining confidence in myself instead of depending on what others thought to guide my growth and next steps. My whole life, I have wished I had the countenance of those seemingly strong people who can let things roll off their backs. But God made me this way. I get to feel things bigger than other people do, and that helps me feel more compassion for those going through tough times. It also makes me want to help people see the other side. And here is what I have learned: not one hard trial in my life has happened without something more amazing than anything I could have dreamed waiting on the other side. My first trial of August 2025 involved a simple rooster.
The rooster was definitely good at his job
Here is a brief overview of a couple of lessons I learned while taking care of some chickens—dubbed “my girls”—while their owners were gone. The owners warned me about the rooster. He consistently attacked the hands that fed him, so they decided he was too much and let him out of the enclosure before leaving for vacation, hoping a wild animal would “take care of him” while they were gone. Natural selection at its finest. Well, let me tell you something: that rooster outsmarted the wild animals for the entire three weeks. His job was to protect those chickens—“his girls”—at all costs, and nothing got in his way.
Lesson 1: You are strong enough, brave enough, and crafty enough to do anything you set your mind to. But in my experience, I do this best when I lean on God.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
The second lesson was about me. Raise your hand if you have ever reacted in the moment, felt horrible afterward, and later realized there was another solution—or at least another way to protect yourself.
On the first day of taking care of my girls, I was woefully unprepared for what that rooster had in him. I had to walk the full length of the chicken enclosure to turn on the water. He met me at the front corner, and—well, let’s just say it is absolutely embarrassing how scared I was of this small but mighty rooster. At one point, I had to kick the poor thing. The sound still haunts me. But he got up, shook it off, and continued protecting his girls. I’m not sure how, but I survived that first feeding. On my way to feed the absent cats, I took stock of things along the way. Luckily, nothing was protecting the cat food, so I returned to my car to evaluate the potential damage from his beak and what we shall call talons.
I went over that scenario again and again, traumatized by the fact that I had kicked a rooster. As I replayed it for what felt like the millionth time, I remembered a grain scoop propped against the house. I was ecstatic. If you’ve never seen a grain scoop, imagine a flat-edged stainless-steel shovel on steroids. I had found a shield. The rooster could do his mightiest to get rid of me, but I could protect myself without hurting him. It was super fun wielding that grain scoop and fending him off while I tried to get into the enclosure without letting the chickens—who would have been ever so happy to escape—rush past me. That grain scoop showed me there could be another way: I could protect myself without fighting my way through the situation.
Lesson 2: You don’t have to take abuse, no matter how convinced the other party is that they are right. They may not know the whole story, and they may not be in the right frame of mind to hear your side. There is always a way to protect yourself. In this situation, my solution was only a grain scoop. But at other times in my life, the solution has seemed too scary. The unknown on the other side can be so daunting that taking action may even feel like the wrong decision in the moment. But, as I’ve said so many times before, my faith has led me to lean on God when I feel afraid and uncertain, trusting Him to help me guard my heart and take the next right step.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23
The grain scoop became a literal shield for me that month, but the passage that kept coming to mind was about a different kind of protection: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” — Ephesians 6:10–17
The final lesson of the month
This month was full of lessons, and I had one more to learn. It definitely wasn’t a new one for me, but it was one I needed again: things can sneak up on you and create tension before you even realize what is happening. That is why, as I said in the beginning, I am trying to heal through things instead of sweeping them under the rug. You see, August 31 would have been my one-year anniversary. I was so headlong into this remodel that I didn’t see the date coming until my helper mentioned it. I’d been testy and out of sorts—even more than normal, haha. He was right.
Lesson 3: Don’t let the past rule your now. Things from your past will revisit you. Avoiding them only creates more heartache, and you can inadvertently hurt someone—or at least damage a relationship—when you refuse to face what is there. Walking through a memory instead of dismissing it can lessen the psychological, physical, or spiritual power it holds. Maybe, eventually, you can even become grateful for the lesson, the situation, or simply one part of it that you are able to appreciate. Along the way, knowing that someone greater than you is holding you through those times has always brought me great comfort.
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10
“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” – Psalms 118:14