Mother Hen

My family roots are of the farm life. My parents were raised on Sand Mtn., Alabama and worked their family farms. It's all they knew growing up. They never had much, but they had family and love. So, I guess you could say that farming is 'in my blood.' I was never raised on a farm. Long before I was born, my parents had left the farms of Alabama for a 'better life.' They moved into the North Georgia area, near the cities, where jobs could be found. But, we always gardened and visited our families and their farms often. I may have been raised in the city, but I sure had a good taste of the country life. I'm so thankful for that heritage! God gave me a wonderful husband with the same interests in nature as me. Five years ago, we were able to purchase about 7 acres and build our dream home. I dedicated it to my father, because he always wanted to buy a small farm one day, but never got the chance to. We have a few cows, and chickens and a garden. I absolutely love it! I am thrilled to give my girls the opportunity to see nature at work....experience God's work first hand!

We bought some chickens a few months after we had settled in. My husband can do nothing 'small' scale. So, of course, he builds this grand chicken coop on the side of our barn. It's beautiful, if something like that can be viewed as beautiful. I call it our 'chicken condo'. Anyway, I began watching our chickens and how they interact. There is alot to be learned spiritually by watching chickens!

There are a lot of references to wings in the Bible. Psalm 17:8 "...hide me under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm 36:7 "...Therefore the children of me put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm 57:1 "...yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge..." Psalm 61:4 "...I will trust in the shelter of thy wings." Psalm 63:7 "...therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." In Deut. 32:11, Isaiah 31:5 and 40:31 he speaks of the majestic eagles wings. Yet in Matt. 23:37 and again in Luke 13:34 he speaks of the hen. Matt. 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent, unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" I've read that several times over my lifetime, and each time just said to myself, 'okay.' But you see, now I have personal experience with chickens (other than just eating them!) and I gained new insight to just how meaningful that sentence that Jesus spoke was!

The word chicken is often a derogatory word used...'Your a chicken!' Why? Well, they run at the least amount of movement! They won't stay around and fight, I assure you! Why then would our massive Saviour, our Rock of our Salvation use a hen to describe himself? As I said earlier, he had used eagles and their wings before. After all, they are certainly majestic creatures! They are the symbol of our country! Why not a fierce lion, a roaring bear? Well, hours of sitting beside that 'chicken condo' beside my barn, I now know why he would use a hen to describe himself.

A hen is one of the best mothers I have ever seen! She will almost starve herself while sitting on those beloved eggs! She knows that those eggs will not hatch if she doesn't keep them warm. She barely takes the time to race and get a small bite to eat and a little water each day. After 21 days........she looks so weak.......but she never grumbles! Once the hatching begins, new life is seen in that mother hen! She begins to cluck in a special way, and those chicks know the sound of mom and quickly do as they are told. She teaches them how to gather food and where to go...and where not to go. She gently corrects them and she's the biggest protector you'll ever meet! Try to step into a coop with a mother hen and her chicks some time! She may not be very big.....but let danger come near, and she will fluff her feathers until she looks twice her size! She immediately will give the 'warning clucks' and spread her wings wide. Those chicks quickly assemble underneath her wings........and pay attention to this.......that mother hen will keep herself between those chicks and the danger! She continues to cluck loudly, always moving her feet, keeping one eye on the enemy and the other on the chicks. Get too close, and you may just lose a chunk of flesh, mom's beak is a very sharp weapon! Once the danger is gone.......and only then, will she let her feathers relax, and allow the chicks to come out of her wings. They never are too far from her that when danger presents itself, they can get into the safety of her wings. Those chicks don't have a clue as to what they have just narrowly escaped! You see, they were safe and secure in the warmth of mom's wings!

What a picture of our Jesus!!! He is our 'mother hen'! He is tender and parental and loving and yet solid, tough, and strong! He cares enough to call us underneath his wing when danger comes near. We may never know just what that danger was or how bad it could've been, because if we are humble to Him, we are safe in His warmth!

I also notice that mother hen is not a tyrant. She is strict, she will guide, discipline, and instruct those chicks.......but the chicks still have the choice not to stay near her. She doesn't force them. We have a wire covering over our coop.....this lessens the stress for our chicks. They don't have to worry about a chicken hawk swooping in and getting the chicks with the cage on top. BUT... every now and again, we have a little stubborn, independent chick born. This chick will not stay as close as the others....and since they are so small, they can jump out of the wire coop and are on 'free' ground! No cage, no doors.......freedom!!! But you see, mom is too big, she can't fit through the wires to that chick. She will squawk and have a fit trying to get that one to come back in, sometimes they do....... but,sometimes we find a pile of feathers in the yard....no more chick. It may have been a hawk, it may have been a dog, a coyote, who knows....that 'free' ground the chick had found....it's also free for the enemy to come around then too. The chick may see the danger and start running, but it may just be too far away from mom's wings to find protection! Just as Jesus had described Jerusalum in Matt. 23:37.

I thank God for His protective wings! I've rested there many times! I am ashamed of the times I have gotten too far away at times and narrowly escaped the enemy! He is always there to protect me, all I have to do is stay close to Him, listen to His instruction, and heed the call when He tells me to come near because of impending danger! The protection of His wings are for everyone.......no one is turned away! We've 'tricked' our small Banham hens before, by sliding a regular egg underneath her as she is setting. Sure enough that big old chick will hatch, funny sight to see! The chick is almost the size of that little hen when it is born. But you know what? She raises that chick, teaches it, cares and protects it just like it is her own! Jesus' wings of protection are for everyone, too! Aren't you so thankful of that?

So, next time you are called a 'chicken'.........smile, that's not so bad.......think of that mother hen, and her fearless actions toward her chicks! Think of our loving Saviour who humbled himself from all that majesty to protect us from the storms of life.....and loved us enough to give His life for our protection!