PIG PIG TROUBLE
DAY 121: It turns out that I am a lot
stronger than I thought. I just needed a couple of big challenges to prove it - in this case, barnyard challenges.
The first came during our regular morning routine that starts about 6:30 a.m. Tony gets up first, but as soon as Piggy hears him moving around he begins squealing for his breakfast. The pig lives on our back porch, and his “nest” is right outside my bedroom, so there is no avoiding his demanding grunts as he aggressively pushes on the door with his snout.
Dutifully,
Tony opens the door and tosses his food onto the porch and all is well in
Piggy’s world – and mine. With the
morning ruckus at an end I can close my eyes for another half hour. On this
particular morning, the ruckus had only begun.
Within a couple of minutes of being fed, Piggy started screeching and
wailing as if he were dying. I ran
outside to find that piggy had fallen off the porch into the open framing of a
new deck we are building. His front two
legs were on the porch, but his back to legs were wedged between the
beams. He was struggling to pull himself
back up to no avail. If he twisted the
wrong way, he was going to break his back legs.
I ran into the bathroom and screamed to my husband who was still in the shower, “Piggy is stuck and he is going to die! Quick, come and help me!”
With that I ran back outside and jumped off the porch. I tried to lift him up but he was stuck. So I hunched down and put my shoulder under his fat imposing ham butt and lifted with all my might until his back feet were free and he was finally on the porch. Just then my husband ran outside dripping wet – and naked.
“I got it honey. No problem. You can go back to your shower,” I said quite pleased with my Herculean feat. "The pig has been saved." He returned to his shower in silence.
I really did need him a few days later but he wasn't home for the next challenge. It was two in the morning and Tony was out of town on business. The dog started backing outside in a way that I knew something was wrong. I climbed out of bed and this time went to the door on the other side of our bedroom that leads to a small five foot by six foot covered porch. It was long ago been surrendered to what we call the “horse porch”, a place to keep bales of hay, grain and dog food.
I stumbled to the door and flipped on the outside light. There, standing on my horse porch -was our horse! And he was eating out of the dog food bag. It took me a moment to process, then, for a split second I thought, “I’m going back to bed.” But of course, that was not really an option. I opened the door and grabbed a rope from the shelf, looped it around his neck, and began to push him backwards so that he would step down off the porch. He resisted. I pushed harder. He ate more dog food. I put my shoulder into it and he finally gave up.
When I walked him back to the paddock I discovered that a couple of rails had fallen down and that is what allowed him to escape. So in the middle of the night, in my white pajamas, I put on my boots, found a drill and some screws and set to fixing the fence. Even I was amused at the ridiculousness of the situation as I tried to hold the 8 foot rails in place with my backside while I drilled each end into the posts. After several tries, I was dirty and sweaty – but pretty impressed with what I was able to accomplish in the dark alone.
In both instances, I found strength I didn’t know I had until the right circumstances demanded it of me.
In my experience life is like that. We watch other people’s hardships and say to ourselves, “I could never endure that.” Then, a trial comes along that demands more strength than we believe we possess. And but for God’s grace in that moment, we would not. Yet God steps in and we find we are “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:11-12
None of this has anything to do with today's Bible passage. But it is a lesson God has just taught me and it is serving me well in my own little crisis right now. Through a clumsy pig and a crafty horse, God illustrated that I will have what I need when I need it and probably not a minute before. Sometimes hearing from God is as much about keeping your eyes open as it is your ears... and always your heart!
Today, when I was tempted to feel inadequate for my life, God brought to mind my barnyard experiences of just a few days ago. My heart was open and I knew I would be strengthen will all power according to is glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience, and JOYFULLY giving thanks to the Father. I hope that encourages you, too!
Day 121 of 365 (These were all good, too!)
1 Samuel 8
1 Samuel 9
John 6:22-42
Psalm 106:32-48
Proverbs 14:34-35
The first came during our regular morning routine that starts about 6:30 a.m. Tony gets up first, but as soon as Piggy hears him moving around he begins squealing for his breakfast. The pig lives on our back porch, and his “nest” is right outside my bedroom, so there is no avoiding his demanding grunts as he aggressively pushes on the door with his snout.
Dutifully,
Tony opens the door and tosses his food onto the porch and all is well in
Piggy’s world – and mine. With the
morning ruckus at an end I can close my eyes for another half hour. On this
particular morning, the ruckus had only begun.
Within a couple of minutes of being fed, Piggy started screeching and
wailing as if he were dying. I ran
outside to find that piggy had fallen off the porch into the open framing of a
new deck we are building. His front two
legs were on the porch, but his back to legs were wedged between the
beams. He was struggling to pull himself
back up to no avail. If he twisted the
wrong way, he was going to break his back legs.
I ran into the bathroom and screamed to my husband who was still in the shower, “Piggy is stuck and he is going to die! Quick, come and help me!”
With that I ran back outside and jumped off the porch. I tried to lift him up but he was stuck. So I hunched down and put my shoulder under his fat imposing ham butt and lifted with all my might until his back feet were free and he was finally on the porch. Just then my husband ran outside dripping wet – and naked.
“I got it honey. No problem. You can go back to your shower,” I said quite pleased with my Herculean feat. "The pig has been saved." He returned to his shower in silence.
I really did need him a few days later but he wasn't home for the next challenge. It was two in the morning and Tony was out of town on business. The dog started backing outside in a way that I knew something was wrong. I climbed out of bed and this time went to the door on the other side of our bedroom that leads to a small five foot by six foot covered porch. It was long ago been surrendered to what we call the “horse porch”, a place to keep bales of hay, grain and dog food.
I stumbled to the door and flipped on the outside light. There, standing on my horse porch -was our horse! And he was eating out of the dog food bag. It took me a moment to process, then, for a split second I thought, “I’m going back to bed.” But of course, that was not really an option. I opened the door and grabbed a rope from the shelf, looped it around his neck, and began to push him backwards so that he would step down off the porch. He resisted. I pushed harder. He ate more dog food. I put my shoulder into it and he finally gave up.
When I walked him back to the paddock I discovered that a couple of rails had fallen down and that is what allowed him to escape. So in the middle of the night, in my white pajamas, I put on my boots, found a drill and some screws and set to fixing the fence. Even I was amused at the ridiculousness of the situation as I tried to hold the 8 foot rails in place with my backside while I drilled each end into the posts. After several tries, I was dirty and sweaty – but pretty impressed with what I was able to accomplish in the dark alone.
In both instances, I found strength I didn’t know I had until the right circumstances demanded it of me.
In my experience life is like that. We watch other people’s hardships and say to ourselves, “I could never endure that.” Then, a trial comes along that demands more strength than we believe we possess. And but for God’s grace in that moment, we would not. Yet God steps in and we find we are “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:11-12
None of this has anything to do with today's Bible passage. But it is a lesson God has just taught me and it is serving me well in my own little crisis right now. Through a clumsy pig and a crafty horse, God illustrated that I will have what I need when I need it and probably not a minute before. Sometimes hearing from God is as much about keeping your eyes open as it is your ears... and always your heart!
Today, when I was tempted to feel inadequate for my life, God brought to mind my barnyard experiences of just a few days ago. My heart was open and I knew I would be strengthen will all power according to is glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience, and JOYFULLY giving thanks to the Father. I hope that encourages you, too!
Day 121 of 365 (These were all good, too!)
1 Samuel 8
1 Samuel 9
John 6:22-42
Psalm 106:32-48
Proverbs 14:34-35
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