"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal."
Chickens are such helpless and adorable animals. My friends got Dot around the time I came to know the Lord six years ago, so we both had our true beginnings at about the same time. She had very white feathers in her young years and one brown dot on a wing. Thus, she got the name Dot. She has always been one of the first to run over to me when I stop by to say hi to "my girls" and often lets me pet her. She does this hilarious low-crawl/duck walk as the presses herself to the ground and tries to waddle around under my hand.
About a year ago she developed a large growth on her left breast and we were worried she was going to die, but she is a trooper and pulled through. Sadly, it has come back and she can barely stand up to get to the food and water dishes. I try to hand feed her in the enclosure but the other girls are jealous and voraciously attack the food in my hand. I've had to pick her up and take her out of the cage while cradling her swollen bosom in my hand to keep her from hurting. She lets me sit her in my lap while she takes a few nibbles at the greens I give her and then she falls asleep. I wish I could heal her and keep her alive forever.
One of the younger girls. As you can see, she looks crazy and she has this very retarded, throaty cluck so I call her "Crazy-eyes McCluck."It's so strange for me to feel so much emotion for such a "worthless" creature. I mean, it's a chicken for Christ-sake! Still, I'm so troubled by my own helplessness and inability to keep her safe and well. She's probably going to die in the next few days and I have to watch her do it. I have to watch as she struggles to come say hi when I visit the cage. She stands up on her wobbly feet and takes a step or two before slowly sinking back down to earth on legs that no longer support her greatly diminished and pained frame. It hurts my heart.
I've come to see life and death in a slightly different light during all of this. When I picked Dot up and gently cradled her in my arms I understood to a new depth of my being God's love for His helpless creation. He cradles me in His arms when I am weak, feeds me when I am hungry, nurses me back to health when I am sick and comforts me in my distress. Apart from my understanding, He loves me when He owes me no such thing in my broken and dying state. At the same time, I owe Dot no debt of love as she slowly winds down her brief dance of life to face the eternity of death. Yet, God, who has the power of creation at His fingertips is able to breath life into bodily frames that are suffering from death. He breathed life into me so that I could experience the hope of the life to come. How could I not love a simple and needy animal like Dot when God gave life to a simple and needy creature like me?
Ironically, in a way, a dying chicken has been able to teach me a valuable truth about life, death and my Father in heaven who has walked me through every step of my short, 27 year journey. I know that because He loves me I am heading toward a destination that will never fail to bring me joy and peace because I will be with Jesus who healed me from my sin and saved me from the judgment it deserved. I hope that you, too, can develop a love for all of God's creation simply because and amazing God created and loves it.
No comments:
Post a Comment