Doing Today What You May Need More Tomorrow

Once upon a time a man in our church ordered 30 chicks in the mail. When they arrived they were cute and small, but they grew bigger every day.

He taught his girls how to feed the chicks, and they played with them, held them, and loved them. When he slaughtered some of them to eat, his girls were very upset, so he didn't do that again. The chicks grew into chickens, and I inherited a couple when he dispersed them to his friends.

These chickens, Thelma and Louise, were peculiar. Normally, a grown chicken will run away from a human. Not these two. When you approach them, they squat down and get ready to be picked up. The girls picked them up and held them daily when they were tiny chicks, making an indelible impression on their vulnerable chicken psyches.

That is why Eden, my granddaughter pictured here with the patient Road Island Red, was able to capture and hold a grown chicken.

Jesus said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).

The Bible stresses the importance of following God while we are young. The patterns we establish in our youth will likely hold throughout our lives.

Everyone should practice the obedient response to God's call. Finding refuge today in the Father's love and strength will make it easier to do the same tomorrow. And resisting today the call, comfort, and support of the Heavenly Father may create mental and spiritual distance during tomorrow's downpour from the only true refuge.