It was Friday morning last week.

I had woken up early, feeling gloomy.

Earlier in the week, one of our sows died of a ruptured uterine artery after farrowing. Even though it wasn’t anything we could have stopped or fixed, it was still making me feel dreary.

Perhaps death on a farm can be seen as a regular occurance. After all, that’s how pork chops end up in the freezer. But as a farmer, I can mentally prepare myself for Harvest Day at 225 days old. The growers don’t get names and as we laugh at their funny antics, everyone here knows they aren’t here to stay.

However, our sows typically live with us for several years. (Our oldest sow has been with us since 2020.)

It’s easy to fall in love with them…each one has her own personalities and quirks…they are our friends and co-workers here on the farm.

This particular sow was actually a newer addition and I had high hopes for her genetics and those of her daughters for improving our herd in mothering, milk production, and meat quality.

And now she was gone.

Both a mental/emotional loss as well as financial. Our farm is not a large one by any means and every dollar makes a big difference.

I had a little time Friday morning before I needed to be somewhere, so I decided to go through mail. The return address of one of them told me that a check had arrived from a customer who wanted to reserve 3 spring feeder pigs from us.

When I opened the envelope, sure enough, there was a check, but she had also enclosed a Bible verse on an index card.

Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:15b

What the…..??

How did she know this verse was exactly what I needed just then? I hadn’t talked to her about this before.

She didn’t know…but God did.

Isn’t it amazing how he sends us these wonderful little reminders when we need them the most? A modern day miracle. A surprise, but not a surprise…God provides.

Are you like me and often resort to fighting your own battles? Like….ALL THE TIME?

I catch myself regularly worrying about things that, really, I have no ultimate control over.

What happens if the boar isn’t doing his job? Or a sow? (Who really conceives life…me or God?)

What do I do when someone dies? (Who really decides who lives and who doesn’t….me or God?)

What happens if someone gets sick? (Who really heals….me or God?)

Our farm business, like all our possessions, belong to God…we are borrowing everything from him while we’re here on earth. We are instructed to be faithful workers….not to run our own show and fight all our battles alone.

I have this card sitting on our kitchen counter now. A little reminder of what to do when I don’t know what to do.

But really, it gets better… Check out the whole chapter where this verse came from.

This was from the time of King Jehoshaphat. Unlike MANY OId Testament kings who sought council from earthly leaders or false gods, he was a strong believer in God and 2 Chronicles chapter 20 displays an AMAZING way that he showed his trust in the Lord.

Several armies were set to invade the land. He called together the nation and they went to God with prayer and fasting, asking what they should do. King Jehoshaphat ended his prayer to God with: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

How beautiful. And a great example of what we can do everytime we’d be stumped at life’s challenges.

How did this battle end? Read the chapter to see what happened. 🙂

PS: Here is a neat picture of Jewelweed, two days before she passed. It’s kind of funny…the little piglets always gravitate towards the heatlamp and the mother sits on the other side, appearing to wonder what’s so spectacular over there. 😀

(If you wondered, that fence is there, not only to keep the mother from bothering the heat lamp, but also the heat lamp draws the piglets into a safe corner so when mom comes back from eating or drinking, they aren’t underfoot and could get injured or laid on.