Things My Chickens Taught Me During Lent

This year, for Lent, I decided to give up beer....😭 Seriously though, I had gotten in the habit of going outside when it was time to close the chickens in the coop for the night. I'd bring a beer and wait. I call it chicken'o'clock. But I also found myself messing with my phone, taking photos, recording what beer I drank on UnTapped, all while getting a slight buzz. I was ignoring what was going on around me. And as I considered how I might prepare my mind and heart for the Easter season, I felt like God wanted me to give up the beer, put the phone down and wait on Him and see what He might have to say…

Spend more time outside in nature. Nothing is as restorative to the human soul as spending time in nature and with the animals God made. This is probably because God, in the beginning, gave man the responsibility to take care of the animals and the earth. It’s our original calling. We are - in this day and age - called by so many things: electronics, people, material possessions. And those calls are so so loud they often drown out the gentle chittering of the birds and the buzzing of the insects...the breathing of the plants. Spending time outside, with a focus on listening to what is around me has reminded me of my original and sacred calling. And it reinforces my desire to be more eco-friendly. We already recycle and have been big recyclers since we lived in California over 20 years ago. Last year, when it was time to get a second car, we bought a hybrid and are super happy about how little gas we actually have to use. And this year we will be giving up paper towels and napkins as a way of being even more kind to the Earth. 

Do it anyway. There will never be a right or perfect time to do all the things you’ve been meaning to do. If

you’re like me, you're a list person and you’ve got lists on paper, lists on the computer and lists in your head. And in making your list of things to do, you also (at least mentally) make a list of circumstances that need to be in place if you are going to do the things on your list of things to do. But those perfect circumstances will never come. There is always something else more pressing and important to draw your time away. So, in order to really get stuff done, you just gotta do it. If you don’t step out and start working toward your goals, they will forever remain scratches on paper and 1 and 0 in the computer. For me, one of the things I can finally check off my list of things to do is, “plant tulips”. I bought 75 tulip bulbs to plant and they’ve sat way past the planting time. But you know what? I planted them anyway. Worst case scenario, they would be all ready for the following spring. Best case scenario - I’ll have my own little slice of Amsterdam in the front yard. And guess what...time to pull out the wooden clogs 🌷🌷🌷

Not everyone is going to like you. The chickens don’t want to eat the layer and flock feed I give them even though it has the best and most complete nutrients. They want the corn and the scratch - the easy high of sugar and calories. Think oatmeal versus Pop Tarts. They also sometimes prefer to eat bugs and even their own poop…While you might be doing your best, offering your best, and being the best version of you that you can be, it doesn't mean everyone you come across will like what you are doing or appreciate you for being you. Remember that saying our parents would tell us when we were having issues with our friends, "10% of people won't like you no matter what"? Turns out it's more like 50%! Yeah...let that sink in for a minute.

Still, what other people think shouldn't stop you from doing what you know is right and continue to put the best version of you out there. So I encourage you to keeping doing what you're doing. Just like I'm gonna keep throwing this nutritious chicken feed on the ground every morning, even though the chickens usually turn away and lay a fat one on the spot 💩💩💩