Have you ever been walking through the day, just doing the mundane chores of life, and encountered evil? One day, it was lying and waiting, while it stole from me.

I love having chickens. When you go to feed and water them, they are so glad to see you. The clucking and scratching are soothing and happy. It feels like treasure, finding eggs in the nests. Fresh eggs are the best.

I enjoy buying Americanos. They lay green, blue, and pink eggs. The grandchildren think it’s extra special. I usually get a dozen chickens at the time. When they are mature, they lay enough eggs for the whole family.

On a Wednesday afternoon, I was headed to the chicken house to check for eggs and check their water. When I got there, a 5-foot black snake was having a feast. He had already eaten 2 eggs and was working on devouring the third egg. (Not a king snake folks. A rat snake.) I knew what I had to do.

My little chicken house is about eight feet by ten feet so there isn’t enough room to fight a snake with a hoe or a shovel. It is also an exercise in futility to catch the snake and carry it away. Once they have found your eggs, they will be back.

I marched myself back to the house and got my .38 revolver my Dad had given me when he died. I loaded it and was ready. I called Baxter, who was still at the office to tell him what I was doing. He wanted to come home and shoot the snake himself. I assured him I could handle it.

Do you know what happens when you shoot a gun in a small space with chickens? They SCREAM! They flew in all directions. Mayhem! Pandemonium!

I hit the snake! Just not in the right place. He was still eating the egg. So I shot again. I hit him again. He was still eating the egg. The poor chickens were still scrambling around not knowing what was going to happen next. So, I shot that snake the third time. He was still eating the egg.

So I marched right back to the house and got Baxter’s “Judge”. For those not familiar with guns, this is a BIG revolver. It shoots .45s and 410 shotgun shells. I made sure to load with shotgun shells. Called Baxter again. Headed back to the chicken house.

That snake with three gunshots is still eating that egg. So this time I shot….and that scattershot got him. (The scattershot got the snake, but it shot a hole in the side of the chicken house too.)

What did I learn that day? Sometimes we can be going through the day performing mundane chores and we come upon evil. Walk right up and it is stealing from us or killing those we love. We have to be ready. There is no time to prepare, we must have already prepared ourselves. We have to be God’s warrior child.

The other lesson I learned was that the evil one can take a “hit” and not die. He can continue destroying as he is dying. I need to find the correct “weapon” to fight him. I need to continue fighting until the job is done. I can’t quit in the middle of the fight.

I fight my fights in prayer. I find that God is mighty and He will fight for us. I just keep praying God’s Word. Believing God. Doing my part and allowing God to do His part. I keep reminding the evil one that Jesus finished His work on the cross and evil is defeated for all eternity.

It may appear that we have lost our fight. Circumstances do not turn out as we think they should. Snakes can keep moving after they die. It looks awful and still appears to be threatening…but that snake is dead. It can do no more harm. That snake has been defeated.

My lesson for that day? Be prepared. Stay the course. Be a warrior child of God.

Exodus 15:2-3
Ephesians 6:10-19
2 Corinthians 10:3-4