We have chickens. I love hearing them. Watching them scratch around for bugs and worms. The sound when they have laid an egg. Then, in the afternoons when I throw in a little more scratch, there are nests with beautiful treasure…eggs.

When Baxter bought our chicks, there was one rooster. He was beautiful and he knew it. He strutted around that pen. Managed those ladies. And protected them too. Nothing came around while he was here. And he crowed…nothing compares to that happy sound. It’s just comforting.

One day maybe 4 weeks or so ago, I went to do the morning feeding. The rooster was not outside with the hens. I went inside the chicken house and there he lay. Dead.  We were so shocked. He had been fine the night before. No issues. 

There were no marks on his body. No signs of an attack. Just dead. His comb had a tinge of purple. The literature we looked at said a purple tinged comb indicated a heart attack. Maybe…but our rooster was gone.

Since he has passed, I’ve walked in on a king snake 3 times and a rat snake once. I guess that rooster truly did keep away predators. They never came around when he was alive.

I hate to think about killing the king snake…the rat snake is another story. If he returns, I won’t put up with that.

It made me think, “Is that how I am living my life?” Do I make the effort to bring into line those sins or character flaws that I define as ugly? Confess them and ask forgiveness with repentance in my heart? While the sins or character flaws I don’t think are so bad I allow in my life? I don’t make confession and repent asking Father to form the image of Christ in me?

The thing about snakes is that for the most part they are pretty silent. They slither into our life unnoticed and take up residence in our hearts and minds. I can tell you that since finding snakes in the chicken house, I don’t just barge in not paying attention. These old eyes are watching closely and carefully. 

We need to remember that each one of us is priceless. We are our Father’s treasure. The evil one comes to steal. He will take everything we have and even our very selves if we allow him. We must be diligent. We must watch. 

I’ve put out Snake Away and that deterred the snakes for about 10/12 days. I’m going to reapply. But I’m not gonna continue to allow these egg thieves to get inside that chicken house. They have no place there. I’ve had to shoot them before…I’m not past shooting them again.

I guess that needs to be our attitude toward the evil one. He has no place in us. We belong to the Father. If he continues to show up trying to get into our lives, what is the plan? Will we fight? Moses had the armies of Israel…King David had 5 stones in a bag, Gideon had 300 men…We have our Messiah…He has equipped us to overcome the evil one.

I had to shoot a rat snake in the chicken house a few years ago…he had already eaten 2 eggs and was beginning to eat the third egg. Taking as much as he wanted. Sometimes, evil must be stopped…I still shoot pretty well…