Here’s a tender, soul-soothing prayer Pearl might whisper in the quiet corner of the henhouse, where dust specks drift like little floating prayers of their own:

A Prayer for Healing Words

O Gentle Shepherd of hearts and feathers,

Today, my wings feel heavy
not from flying, but from words
that pecked too close to the heart.

You heard when they spoke—
those sharp little syllables
that made me shrink smaller
than my own shadow on the coop wall.

But You, O Lord, name me beloved.
You stitched dignity into my down,
and not even the harshest cluck
can unravel what You have called good.

Help me not to store these words
like cracked corn in my soul’s silo.
Sweep them out, one by one,
and fill me instead with the warmth
of Your voice—gentle, true, and ever kind.

Teach me to forgive,
not because it was easy,
but because You forgive me daily
even when I ruffle feathers
without meaning to.

Let me stand tall in Your grace today,
white as snow, warm as straw,
and light as a feather in Your wind.

Amen.

Final Thoughts: Can’t we all relate to Pearl’s prayerful words? She experienced this when the other chickens were critical of her. Even though they are gone and she remains alone in our Backyard Garden, those words have remained with her. She still needs protection from their harm. Perhaps if you, dear reader, were bullied as a child, similar words have stayed with you, and those words are still trying to make you feel worthless and bad about yourself.

Do as Pearl does—stand tall in God’s Grace.