A Fox in the Hen House

"She will cover you with Her pinions, And under Her wings you may seek refuge; Her faithfulness is a shield and bulwark."

Life was good. My mother hen hatched 5 eggs, she was happy, and her chicks were happy. They spent almost a week together. It was a joy to watch them following their mother around, pecking where she pecked, and taking shelter under her wings of protection. I'm glad they had that time. Two nights ago something entered the hen house and ate mother hen and 3 of the chicks. It was a pretty gruesome sight. I found one of the survivors before I left for work, and after work I found one more chick. They live in the house with me right now, in a cat kennel. Their bliss was suddenly and tragically terminated. In the blink of an eye, their lives were changed.

This struck me. I mean, it is too bad the mother and other chicks had to die, but this is the way with animals. Death comes to us all. I suppose that whatever animal killed them, probably needed a good meal. But, what really hit me hard was the one remaining chick. Suddenly alone in a cold cruel world, wandering around the yard looking for his mother, looking for those wings of protection, and not finding anything. Life can change in a heartbeat. I thought of my son overseas, and worried about all the things that could happen to him. I imagined myself as this little chick wondering where my security and happiness suddenly went to. I could feel the reality that the ground can shift at any time.

Have you ever had a really bad thing happen, and you go to sleep at night, and dream different dreams where somehow the bad thing didn't happen or gets resolved? Only to wake up in the morning or during the night with the unwelcome realization that the bad thing did happen and nothing has changed? This always happens to me when bad things happen. It is tortuous. But, this is also the reality. Shit happens, and it won't get resolved in a dream or overnight. Sometimes it will never be resolved, sometimes it can't be erased, and sometimes things just can't go back to the way they were.

There is nothing wrong with taking the comfort in heaven where earthly woes will be resolved and our cares gone. Some even take comfort in the idea of a hell where those that get away with murder and injustice in life will at last get their just rewards. These things may be comforting, but we must live our lives as if there were neither of these things. The bad things we do to others, the hurt that we inflict on them in this life, we need to make it right with them in this life. What right do any of us have to intentionally hurt another. Our earthly bliss and painful days are fleeting, and we need to do our best with the time and the resources that we have. There are no dreams that will come at night to make everything better, there is no magic bean that will grow a magic kingdom, and we shouldn't wait for a promised afterlife to make peace with the things that we have done wrong and the tragedy that has happened to us. Any of us could be out pecking with our brood today, only to have it all ripped from us in a blink of an eye.

My hen is buried under my butternut tree in the backyard. In time she will become part of that tree, along with the raspberry bushes that are growing nearby. Perhaps part of her and her three chicks will live on in next year's litter of fox pups or raccoon cubs that are born near here. She will live on in many ways, but her life as we know it is done. She did a fine job as a mother, although I have a little to learn as a steward of my chickens. I will try to learn from my mistakes, and do better in protecting my brood from here on in. I failed, but this does not mean I have to keep on failing. My days on this earth are numbered, as are yours, and my remaining two little chicks. We will all wither and decay. After I die, I look forward to my ashes being scattered to the wind, perhaps to become a part of a dragon fly, bumble bee, or wild iris. This is eternal life to me. While I am alive, I will try to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. What is your plan? - pEACEoUT thom

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls."