Dear friends,
since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen
God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete
in us.
1 John 4:11-12
Ode to
white chicken...
Last week
we said goodbye to White Chicken. When my youngest child left for college, my husband got me three chickens,
one for every child who was then out of my empty nest. At one point they had
names but mostly I just called them my biddies because they reminded me of
three little old ladies. They balked at one another, they fought, they squawked
and clucked constantly, but for all their apparent contention, they seemed to
move in a lovely rhythm of sisterhood, never straying far from one another,
each one knowing where they fit in the pecking order. White chicken was the most vocal of all. It
was her job to sound the alarm when the other two were trying to lay eggs. Unlike Lucy, (Chicken number 2) her egg
production was sparse at best, but every morning when the other two layed their
eggs, Whitey would strut outside the
coup and scream at the top of her lungs as if to announce the greatest event in
history. Not the most social, that was chicken number two, Red Chicken. White never really grew comfortable with us but
would always stay a safe distance away.
I think she was a bit of an introvert. True, she was an odd bird, but it
was clear that she was the caretaker of the flock. Yes, she was a leader for sure and Lucy
and Red were content to follow her. She would lead them around the yard in search
of good places to forage for bugs and I often observed her strutting back and
forth like a sentry while the other two contentedly dug around in the dirt. She
was the one who figured out how to escape the coup, raid my garden, and led the
charge in the hostile takeover of an old barbecue in the backyard, which really
did make a perfect roost! When she
became ill, from whatever chicken born illness would eventually take her chicken life, our
hearts were saddened to watch her strength fade. What did not grow weak however was her desire
to maintain her role as caretaker of the flock.
No matter how hard it was to keep up with the other two, she found the
strength to do it. Red chicken was
struck by the same illness and quickly became too weak to move. Even though she was clearly worse off than
Red, White walked slowly across the yard and as she reached the place where Red
was lying, in what would be her last display of love and commitment, she spread
her wing over her and lay down next to her. White chicken breathed her last
that day but not before teaching me an incredible lesson about sisterhood. She
was all in! There was no every hen for herself attitude with Whitey. She knew her role in the flock and she
fulfilled that role with all her chicken might. She may not have been the most
social, like Red, or the most productive, like Lucy, but she was smart and
crafty and she had one BIG voice, especially when she was singing the praises
of her sister hens. There is a kingdom lesson in the life of White Chicken
wouldn't you agree?
Today, in honor of
White chicken, think outside the box, let yourself be comfortable doing what
you are great at, and stop comparing yourself to others. Take just one moment to sing the praises of
one of your sisters, and despite the squawking, and balking we sometimes do as
women, take a minute to let your sister friends know you are indeed there for
them and you are ALL IN!
Love from
home,
Julie
