We came home to find our favorite rooster dead. He was special—one my girls had raised from a baby chick. When he was little, my Adelyn would rock him to sleep in her swing and plop him in her lap to ride down our backyard slide. Little Addie (named after our Adelyn) was the gentlest rooster and a rare find since most roosters are aggressive.
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After our backyard rooster funeral and burial (complete with prayers and hyperventilating tears,) we walked inside with sad hearts and Adelyn refusing to eat chicken. Ever. Again.
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But the following day, despite the cloudy skies and sloppy rain, God was merciful, and in place of our lost rooster, our Jersey cow Marigold birthed a baby calf. When we found them in the woods, her calf’s hair was still slick and wet, and her new legs trembled when she tried to walk—she was just born! We sat quietly in awe, watching her stand and wobble unsteadily around the dead tree branches on the ground to nurse her mama. Marigold even let us sneak up close enough to pet her nose and introduce us to her little addition.
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The circle of life is incredible. My girls’ sad hearts quickly changed to squeals of joy. As we walked back home with the gentle rain falling down our foreheads and tickling our noses and with each step, mud squishing beneath our boots, I reminded my girls that “the Lord gives and takes away.” (Job 1:21) He saw fit to give us this baby calf in little Addie’s place.
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Just the day before, we were carrying around heavy hearts, mourning the loss of our little rooster. But I also learned a valuable lesson. Despite our sadness, if we are just willing to pull on our rain boots, trample through a bit of mud and manure, and wander around in the rain, we will likely uncover gems of God’s goodness hidden deep in the woods—and in the most unlikely places.
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💖, Macki