Courtney's Quest: The Trouble with Chickens & Me

9 weeks ago, we brought home fluffy little balls of sweet peeps. today we drove them to their new home an hour away - where there are no HOAs or neighbors who report your chickens.

right after we found a new home for our rooster in Iowa, we received a notice from our HOA telling us to get rid of our chickens. one of our neighbors lied to us about their acceptance of our little flock and reported us.

I tried to fight it, but in vain. if you haven't had the pleasure of being around chicks, you don't know that they are super quiet, their poop is easy to remove and great fertilizer, and they can be quiet tame and fun to play with.




my first reaction was anger and hurt. I adore our chickens and look forward to letting them out in the backyard to hunt for bugs every morning; feeding them our breakfast, lunch, and dinner scraps; watching them jump up to the window to watch the girls and I have lessons or do crafts in our glass school room; and having them run up to me the second they hear the back door slam to see us.


I went and confronted each of our neighbors, asking if they had turned us in, but all denied it. the HOA confirmed to me that it was one of them, so we have a good guess who it might be. visions of calls to the HOA and/or City noting their violations swam in my head. hot tears burned my face every time I called to fight the violation.

it's not fair. why do people have to go out of their way to be mean?
it's just a chicken, some might say. what if it was your cat or your dog, I might respond.

those were my questions, and my children's.

and, i'll admit, it took several weeks for me to remember that especially through times such as these is when I am called to rise above and Love.

I was ready to put signs up that said, "mind your own business before you put your nose in mine," or "please talk to your neighbors instead of tattling," or "talk to us next time before you break my kids' hearts." my mind couldn't turn off.

then I began to check myself - because my kids were watching me. they were watching to see how I would react to being hurt and what I would do.

I love it when God uses my children to remind me of Himself. (it's painful, though.)

so, I decided to acquiesce to the demands, and am instead going to write a letter to each of my neighbors - opening a line of communication and asking if we can help rebuild any brokenness that has caused the rift and dishonesty, and perhaps find out if there is another previous reason they felt angered enough to turn us in.

it is not going to be an easy letter to write, because I feel betrayed and violated and brokenhearted. but, I want them to think of our family as Loving and forgiving, and recognize the Father because of it. my heart has already changed and is ready to forgive.

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