This spring, we decided to add chickens to our small farm. What an adventure! When we brought our new baby chicks home, they were so cute and fuzzy! The lady at the feed store gave us some tips on how to get started, and what to expect. But, as is usually the case, the information wasn't nearly complete.
We started our new little chicks in a large bin in the back bedroom of our home, so that they would stay warm and safe. They had to have a red heat lamp on them at all times and the temperature had to be just right. We could decrease the temperature by 5 degrees a week, until they were fully feathered and could tolerate 70 degrees or less.
Well, they quickly grew feathers and outgrew their box. We had to start working on an appropriate living situation for them, and the time was creeping up on us fast. Unfortunately, there are so many things competing for the little free time we have in the early spring. So, we were trying to squeeze in a chicken coop among all the other pressing items on our to-do list.
We are slowly puting together a very nice, appropriate home for our new chickens. But, until it is finished, they are only able to be outside during the day, when someone is around to watch over them. At night, I still have to bring them in and put them back in the box. I know they wish they could stay out all night, but it is not safe, nor is it warm enough at night, yet.
This makes me think about my relationship with God. Jesus said when he left our little world that he was going to prepare a place for us, and that he would come again and take us to be with him. He knows that we don't really belong in this "box", but we have to wait just a little while longer, until everything is just right. When we are ready, and when he has everything in place, we will get to go to our real home, prepared just for us. Until then, I need to trust him to keep me safe, just as my little chickens need to trust me.
We started our new little chicks in a large bin in the back bedroom of our home, so that they would stay warm and safe. They had to have a red heat lamp on them at all times and the temperature had to be just right. We could decrease the temperature by 5 degrees a week, until they were fully feathered and could tolerate 70 degrees or less.
Well, they quickly grew feathers and outgrew their box. We had to start working on an appropriate living situation for them, and the time was creeping up on us fast. Unfortunately, there are so many things competing for the little free time we have in the early spring. So, we were trying to squeeze in a chicken coop among all the other pressing items on our to-do list.
We are slowly puting together a very nice, appropriate home for our new chickens. But, until it is finished, they are only able to be outside during the day, when someone is around to watch over them. At night, I still have to bring them in and put them back in the box. I know they wish they could stay out all night, but it is not safe, nor is it warm enough at night, yet.
This makes me think about my relationship with God. Jesus said when he left our little world that he was going to prepare a place for us, and that he would come again and take us to be with him. He knows that we don't really belong in this "box", but we have to wait just a little while longer, until everything is just right. When we are ready, and when he has everything in place, we will get to go to our real home, prepared just for us. Until then, I need to trust him to keep me safe, just as my little chickens need to trust me.
