It’s 98 degrees outside, and once again, I am drenched head to toe in sweat as I reinforce yet another section of our fence. This is the third time I’ve been called to the pasture to retrieve our miniature donkeys from the other side of the fence.

The original fence was built to keep horses inside the pasture. The fence line was just a set of t-posts and some simple wire, leaving many weak areas for miniature donkey passage. Only one of the three sections was barbed, but even that did little to stop Daisy from getting through and bringing the other donkeys with her.

The neighbors have full-sized donkeys, including the alpha male, Pepe. They never crossed the line because their larger bodies could not shimmy under the fence or through some more open areas. However, Daisy was set on finding a new weakness in the perimeter after each successful day of fence reinforcement work. Why such courageous determination?

Daisy loves Pepe.
It turns out Pepe feels the same way.

During the hottest months of the Texas summer, I found myself in emergency fence repair mode three times. It was hot, exhausting work, and I love reflecting on the formation moments when doing hard things for those you lead and love. Here are five key takeaways from my experience.

1. Established Priorities Simplify Decision Making - When faced with unexpected challenges, I return to my stated prioritization list and filter my decisions accordingly. I put God above spouse, spouse above kids, and kids above all else. In these situations, the donkeys must be contained to keep peace and order at the SchiefelRanch, and failure to do so puts additional stress on my wife as she runs the day-to-day operations of our large family life. Fixing the fence will improve her peace of mind and allow her to continue caring for the kids, and that is why I canceled or postponed other activities in each surprise fence-fixing instance.

2. Physical Challenges are Good for the Soul - It can be daunting to look at a long set of t-posts and a heavy bale of fencing with only limited daylight hours and get discouraged by the task ahead. Many start the task by complaining about the summer heat and lamenting the physical challenge ahead, but that dialogue, internal or external, wastes time and energy. My coach taught me years ago to skip the whining and simply act like everything is easy. Before you know it, the work turns into visible progress, and your sense of accomplishment creates a moment of formation and confidence.

3. Modeled Behavior is the Best Form of Teaching – I can tell my kids about the value of hard work and how to rely on grit when the going gets tough, but those lessons don’t seem to make sense until they witness it firsthand. Thanks to many projects like the fence fixing of 2024, my older children have a better grasp of what it takes to accomplish hard tasks and a belief that their father puts forth meaningful effort even in every aspect of life.

4. A Body in Motion Tends to Stay in Motion – I notice very little progress when I start a task until I am well into the work. It is tempting at that point to stop for the day or spend an extra-long break admiring the visible accomplishments, but doing so creates a slowdown and a potential loss of inertia. Instead, I take appropriate breaks, take quick moments to admire my progress, and then I do the next thing. Movement creates more momentum and provides the ultimate moment of satisfaction – a job done well and to completion.

5. Tom Sawyer’ing is a Gift – In high school, I realized I could get others excited to join me in just about any task, project, game, or mischief. I also understood that taking on challenging tasks with others leads to shared experiences that forge stronger bonds and create great memories.

For fence reinforcement number one, I cleared the surrounding land and removed the brush with Nick Bezner before my father-in-law (Doug Brown) joined me the next day to add the new fencing. For fence number two, my father (Dick Schiefelbein) assisted from one side of the fence while I did the heavy lifting from the other. And for the third (and final, I hope) day of fence work, I enlisted the help of Ryan Pena, John Heinen, and John Kunz.

In every situation, we enjoyed each other’s company and finished strong as a team with a lasting reminder of the great work we completed. When the bigger crew came out on job number three, I joked that I call myself the “Catholic Tom Sawyer,” always galvanizing others to get involved and often in causes that help the less fortunate.

I regularly rally the troops for tasks like moving (35 men unloaded our moving vans in one hour), cleaning up disaster zones (many tornadoes have hit Texas over the years), or donating time, money, and resources to high-impact nonprofits. What I love about being the Catholic Tom Sawyer in this case is that we were actually building a fence, much like the fabled galvanizer himself!

Today, Daisy is safe in our pasture and still gets to say hello to Pepe each morning without creating any additional disruptions. And while I am grateful to have secured the fence, I look forward to the next round of physically challenging projects with my friends at the SchiefelRanch and beyond.