“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)

Charlie, to be honest, was always a yolk short of normal! He got his start as a project. My daughter worked in a home for Developmentally Disabled adults and took an egg from one of our hens to incubate. The residents watched in amazement as the egg slowly hatched and out popped Charlie! He was cute and cuddly for a while, but Charlie soon turned into an unruly rooster that found himself back with us. The only problem was, Charlie didn’t fit in with us either. He was always mad and would flog anything that moved or didn’t move. I observed him lash out at a sponge that we were using to wash the car. The concrete duck frequently became the object of Charlie’s wrath, as well as anyone who dared to turn their back on him. After a while, we appropriately changed his name to “Crazy Charlie.” This feathered bundle of trouble didn’t go by rules. He assumed he knew best and would not go in at night with the rest of the chickens. I would often find him huddled in the dark and would have to pick him up and put him in the coop with the others. This obstinate, stubborn chicken thought he knew best, but what he didn’t see was the danger that lingers in the dark. Coyotes roam around looking for such prideful delicacies as our Crazy Charlie. One night I forgot to put him away, as was my nightly ritual. I was relieved to hear him crow before dawn that morning. Charlie had his own timing, so he would always crow before daylight just to let the world know he was up and was still mad. I went back to sleep, glad that Charlie had made it through another night. Evidently, a hungry coyote heard Charlie crowing and took that prideful crow as a call to supper. Poor Charlie was never to crow again. I wish I could have warned Charlie of the dangers out there, if I could get it through to this “dumb cluck” that I was only thinking about his good. Since I didn’t speak chicken, I was helpless. If only I could become a chicken for just a minute, I could explain to this stiff-necked “bird brain” how to keep himself from becoming a meal for some hungry varmint. But Charlie thought he knew best.

I think we all have a little Charlie in us. We strut around in our own pride, in our own strength, daring anyone to tell us that there is another way. We crouch in our own darkness, becoming a sitting duck for the enemy. The Bible says the devil roams around like a hungry lion searching for whom he can devour. What better prey than someone who tries to do everything on their own and sits alone in the darkness of their own pride? Jesus became man so he could talk with us. He wanted us to know that we didn’t have to do everything in our own strength. We don’t have to be in the darkness, because He said, “I am the light” He came so that none of us would perish but have life eternal. He loved us so much, even us “dumb clucks” that he came to be one of us so he could warn us of the devil’s plans. He desired to bring us into the new light of His salvation. Thank God He didn’t give up on this “chick”.

Poor Crazy Charlie, I will never hear a rooster crow that I won’t think of him and tell the tale of this angry, tough old rooster who knew it all, who wanted his own way and paid a dear price. May the Charlie in all of us rest in peace!

Jeanie Nihiser
Volunteer and Prayer Warrior with Answers2Prayer Ministries
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)