Spring!
Spring has begun to rear it's head on the farm!! This winter was the hardest and felt like the longest since moving to the farm, I am so excited to see glimpses of the rebirth spring brings each day. Yesterday I noticed that for the first time this year, the Buff Orpington chickens were up at the house again. They were foraging through the leaves and leftover snow for any bit of food they could find. When I walked outside my front door, they ran up to me (not kidding, ran!) as if to say they’d missed our daily visits on the steps since the fall. For me this is a stronger sign of spring than if a dozen Robins were in the trees! I'm not sure who is more excited that spring has sprung; me or the chickens. Spring is here!
Momma kitty in the barn is as round as can be with babies who are due any day. Our last duck egg hatched in the incubator 2 days ago, so we will end the hatching season with 8 healthy Khaki Campbell ducks! One of our Hen’s has taken up residence in the goat pen and has gathered 4 eggs under her. If all goes well, she will be the mother to several baby chicks in the next week or so. Spring is here!
The snow melt has reaped havoc in the barn and flooding this time of year is the norm. Chicks and Ducks from this year's hatch are still living in large pens in my son's bathroom as the temperature ups and downs make it too risky to move them out into the barn yet. But the baby chicks are starting to get their adult feathers, a sure fire sign that they will soon move to their permanent residence in the barn, and act that always brings a smile and a sigh of relief to my husband’s face! Spring is here!
During the stillness of the Winter I took a lot of time to reflect on life here and before we moved to the farm. Reading back over prior posts it occurred to me how much I’ve learned and how awesome this experience has been for me and the whole family. But I also noticed a lot of struggle and even a lot of death experiences, most of the animal variety. It made me think about the concept of suffering. Why we have to suffer, what benefit it brings and how we use our times of suffering. In February I lost a friend to Cancer. Not yet having reached her 40th year on this planet, the loss has been great to me, my other friends and of course her family, including her 11 year old son. It has stopped all of us in our tracks and forced us to look at how we are living our lives. It has reminded us that there are no guarantees and that life in all of its forms is precious. It has hurt and been painful. It has brought those of us she left together, closer, more thankful for life and each other. It has changed us.
For me it is apparent that in the goodness of life we become
complacent. I do anyway. Expectations change when all is well. I start to
expect that life will continue to be easy or good. When tragedy strikes, it
forces me to look hard into my thoughts, words and actions. I’m forced to be
deliberately present in my life. I don’t like it, but I need it. I need to
struggle to appreciate the “wins” in life. I need to struggle to become a
better version of myself, to have empathy for others, to reach out and with
honest words day, “I know how you feel”, to fully see, appreciate and thank God
for all of my blessings.
I also need to have struggle in my life as I seek to be a
valid example of Christ here on earth. Jesus, did no wrong, yet lived a humble,
tragic life that changed the direction of spiritual world forever. Whether you
believe in him as the Messiah or not, you would be hard pressed to deny his
great love for others. In great pain, and taking the ultimate risk of
rejection, he loved all people, even those who no one else wanted to
acknowledge. Even on the cross he prayed for Father God to forgive the masses
for crucifying him. Can you imagine being that loving? Imagine yourself praying
a prayer of Thanks Giving for your co-worker who lied about your work to
forward their own position, for that kid on the bus who is tormenting your
child, imagine thanking God and praying for that person who said those hurtful
things about you. Can you or I actually be that loving? I think we must try.
Now, I’m not suggesting I or anyone can be 100% like Jesus,
far from it, but it makes me think that any idea of suffering is actually
necessary if you are seeking to be like him and that it is only by our wounds
and humility that we grow in Christ. Life is difficult, but it is SO wonderful!
Challenges make each of us who we are, make us worth wild people for each
other. And frankly they show the depth of our faith. A picture that can be
painful if, like me, you have a short memory for all that God has done for you.
So as spring approaches you in your life, take a moment to
be thankful for the struggle, for all of the “winters” in your life. If you are able to love others in good times and
bad, be thankful. And if this is a challenge for you, then work on flexing your
gratitude muscle. Pray for those who have hurt or are hurting you. Show love to
the unlovable people around you. Be thankful in all things and I promise you in
turn you will have a lot to be thankful for!
