09/29/2025
Social media has a way of glamorizing whatever lifestyle the poster wishes to portray, and the viewer very seldom gets to see anything real. So, let’s be real:
Raising livestock is frustrating.
Case in point — these two pigs, a proven sow and a young boar. The sow decided halfway through nursing her first litter that she was no longer interested in staying where she belonged, and I have yet to convince her otherwise. The young boar and two of his counterparts broke out of their pen to track down this damsel in distress. At the new property, our infrastructure is severely lacking, and having pigs out all over the place is a very poignant reminder of how much work I have ahead of me.
Lingering on the negative isn’t something a farmer or believer can afford. I choose to turn my problems into challenges — to push forward, question the status quo, and keep building.
Here’s the bright side: the very reason they’re getting into this trouble is the same reason I raise them. These boars are far younger than most before they start showing interest in a sow in heat — and yet here they are, proving themselves both determined and ahead of the curve. Not only that, but they’re some of the best-built boars our program has produced to date.
So yes, livestock will test your patience, wear you out, and humble you… daily. However, if you look close enough, even in the frustrating moments, you can find encouragement that the program is working, that the genetics are growing stronger, and that the hard work is paying off.
Life is much the same. What we face day-to-day often feels like one more broken fence, one more headache, one more thing gone wrong. It’s rarely pleasant in the moment — but if we endure, what was once a trial can become a triumph.
Hebrews 12:11 says it plainly: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Your challenges may look different than mine, but the truth is the same: God uses the frustrating, difficult, and painful moments to shape us into something stronger, more fruitful, and more like Christ.
If you’ve wandered, grown weary, or even turned your back on Him, you’re not beyond His reach. You are not lost in the midst of your struggle. He has been waiting with arms wide open, no matter how messy, broken, or sinful life has been.
So if today feels like a busted fence and pigs on the loose, take heart — there’s a harvest on the way.
