7/25/06 Hungry study “the duck and the egg, obedience and authority.”
Lessons from the farm.
Years ago, when our family first entered the genteel lifestyle of farming, everything was fresh, new and fantastic. (For example: our 10th wedding anniversary, which Rg wanted to celebrate big style – was instead celebrated with new livestock. I asked for (and got) a nanny goat.) Everything in our lives, those first few farming years, was a wonder and a delight. Almost everything…. For we also learned some hard lessons about reality verses Disney movies concerning the animal kingdom. I want to share some of those stories with you, as I believe they reflect spiritual truths that apply to where we are in the Kingdom of God today.
The Duck
Our first year on the farm was a 4’H year. Never having experienced 4-H before, we
took to heart the fact that we were required to learn all we could about our animal entry. Therefore, I am an unpublished expert on the muscovy duck.
There were 3 (Ej, Joe and Sarah) of them living on our front porch that summer. The tiny spring babies were fluffy, yellow and quite darling. So miniature, so petite and so terribly dependent on us for everything. Like storybook characters, they followed us around all day, walking in single file behind us without question or thought. (It appeared that they were in love with us, but the reality was they wanted to eat. I don’t remember that they thought much at all about anything but food). However, those first weeks were heavenly bliss. Ej named her duck “Sunny” and tied a red ribbon around her neck to help identify her from lesser ducks…ie..those belonging to her brother and sister.
By the second month, make that mid-June, the ducklings grew astoundingly. Of course, the porch remained their home as their personal safety was of utmost concern.
Not only were these precious ducks 4-H entries, sure to take grand prize, but they had become valued members of our family. Dear pets. So no one complained too much about the horrendous odor that permeated the house, originating from the front porch, no matter how diligently the children cleaned the premises. Herein was Lesson #1.
Lesson # 1. No matter how cute they are, ducks poop a lot. (Are you thinking in the spirit?)
By mid’July, the darlings had outgrown their darlinghood. Messy, quarreling,
always dirty and continually stupid, the ducks were still loved but not the family favorites anymore. However, they kept their residence on the front porch for their value at 4-H entries. They had become our “project”. We studied every book, every encyclopedia, and every farm magazine – learning scads of information about muscovies. None of it do I remember now.
Lesson # 2. Informational knowledge is fleeting at best.
By August we were completely unthrilled with this trio of poopie critters. It took
all our stamina to scrub the porch each day, in the wafting, and I mean wafting, heat of the season. The poor humanized duckies still loved us to death, provided we give them food. Otherwise they spent their time squabbling and pecking, sometimes disgustingly…er… earthy. (We found out we had 2 boys and 1 girl, not a healthy harem by any stretch, but that is a different story concerning how Ej learned about the birds and the bees.)
Lesson # 3. Conditional love can be purchased through sacrifice and servitude.
Fair time was an extravaganza to say the least. Ej had removed the red ribbon from Sunny’s neck and the red stain from it was nearly gone. Proudly I watched my brood (of children) make their way up the line to the judges, with their make-shift duck cages in hand. Those kids could recite duck-line pedigrees, intimate details of duck care, the history of the domestic duck and just about any other bit of information you can image having to do with muscovy ducks and their care. I was convinced that my kids would walk away with blue ribbons. Red ring around the neck of not, what other kids had devoted such time, energy and commitment to their ducks?
I did notice that quite a few other children had immaculate cages for their birds, complete with sanitized bedding. Must’ve been a specialty line at Fleet Farm. Some had squirt bottles and cleaning clothes, polishes and oils. However I did not let that revelation intimidate me. Anyone can have a clean bird or a pretty cage, but not everyone possesses the knowledge of the animal or has the incredible truth of how much daily care they took of their duck.
Lesson # 4. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder (or Pride goeth before the fall.)
Finally it was Ej’s turn to stand before the “duck” judge. By now she was sweaty and dirty with.. er.. duck doo doo. The duck herself was messy with it (have you ever seen duck poop? Slimy stuff) Ej had taken Sunny out of her cage to clean and then carry her, but alas.. clean duckie Sunny was not to be. Hey! I thought, looks aren’t everything. Surely the judge will see by her answers that she is a true connoisseur of duckness!
I don’t know if you can believe what happened next. It has forever tarnished my opinion of 4-H judging and I probably need inner healing to help with the vows I made that day. The judge took one long at Ej’s “Sunny” bird and pronounced her – dirty!
He asked her not one question. He didn’t care how much information she knew about the incubation period of muscovies or the proper nutrients an egg laying muscovy should digest. He simply looked at her briefly and said, “Your duck is dirty. You don’t bring a dirty duck to the fair.” Period. Next
I was horrified… nearly outraged! How unfair! Sunny was spotless when we left home – could we help it that she pooped as only a duck can while waiting in line? And what about all the knowledge Ej possessed? And the hours of toil and drudgery she gave in preparation for this day? The injustice of it stung me for a decade at least.
Lesson #5 Do not look to man for justice, but never cease to give it.
The first thing we did when we got home was move those ducks to the barn.
The second thing was to take all the duck resource materials back to the library and replace 4-H meetings with soccer practice.
The following spring was glorious. The ducks did better in the barn than on the porch. Soon Sunny was sitting on a hatch of eggs which beautifully and majestically transformed into fuzzy yellow ducklings. We were euphoric… 4-H disappointments forgotten.
We did notice that the farm dogs (inherited when we moved into the farmhouse. I guess they came along with the barns and mice) took an undue interest in the tiny babies, so we moved them with Sunny into a large cage. They were well-fed, well-watered
and protected from the unwanted attentions of any hungry canine. We noticed the dogs by the cage all afternoon and could hear Sunny make little squawking bark noises. She stomped her big webbed feet a lot in an attempt to drive the dogs away. We knew she and her babies were quite safe, and smiled at her vain attempts to frighten them. “What a good mother she is”, we said. “And how fortunate that we have them in a cage.”
Lesson #6 Just because you have learned 5 lessons doesn’t mean your education is over.
In the morning we heard a wail come from the direction of the duck cage. Running to Ej’s rescue, we saw Sunny, still indignant over the dog situation, still stomping her big feet. We also saw a carpet of what looked liked squished fuzzy yellow ducklings, under her feet. We let Sunny out and that duck stomped her feet for days. We buried the “carpet” with intense sadness, wondering why we hadn’t just left them alone.
Lesson # 7 Don’t do for others what they can do for themselves.
The Egg
We graduated to chickens. I read all the library had about raising chickens, proper housing and nutritional needs. I learned which birds were for meat and which for eggs. I learned that a Banty hen will try to hatch a rock, which is another story altogether. Then I read something that captivated me. Scientific resource proved that when a chick hatches, it will bond to whatever it sees first. They experimented and had chickens bonded to barn shoes even.
We were involved with children’s ministry, vacation bible schools, and this new chicken knowledge birthed an inspiration which took me by surprise and won my heart.
I figured I could hold an egg about to hatch, it would see me first and bond. That would open the door for intense training (yes, I am deadly serious) so that I could bring this chick into children’s ministry, as a sort of natural mascot of His creation. My daydreams led to getting invitations to have Super Chick perform at birthday parties, Sunday schools, library story hours and school classrooms.
Lesson # 8 He who builds a house without the Lord builds in vain.
One sweet Saturday in June I visited the hen house once again, looking for the object of my dreams. Fighting off the broody hen, I saw one of her eggs had a hairline fracture. With glee I snatched it up before she could peck me and ran up to the yard, announce my “labor” was here and that I would not be available until “delivery” was complete. I settled into a lawn chair, holding the egg.. waiting.. waiting… watching…
Twice I had to move the lawn chair as the sun moved his shade beyond my space.
The hairline remained a hairline. My family, having heard about this new adventure for weeks, remained at a distance. They played badminton, volleyball, had lunch and played some more. I got more bored than I ever thought I could in my entire life. And still, the fruits of my waiting was the same hairline.
Lesson #9 When once you take matters into your own hands, do not take more matters into your own hands.
In the middle of the third inning I noticed the hairline was just a wee bit bigger.
I forgot about my desire to join the baseball game and concentrated on that crack. Try as I might, it just would not get any bigger. In between yelling at the pitcher, the umpire, and the guy trying to steal a base (which would be Rg) I had another brilliant idea.
Perhaps the reason this chick is having such a prolonged delivery is because he needs help! Sheep often need help. I helped many lambs come into the world – why not a chick?
With infinite care, I felt around the fracture with my fingernail, looking for any loose part to start… aha.. there! A very very loose edge running sideways across the crack. Gently oh so gently, I peeled the corner up and back. EUREKKEEA! I could see through the filmy membrane.. a chick inside.. all motion as he tried to free himself from the clumsy shell.
I gave him some time (ok. Maybe a minute) to break more shell loose. When nothing happened, I “helped” him again. It was so exciting..so God.. to see this creature which wasn’t, which had never ever been, becoming a reality! I called the family to me to witness the event. They left their game slowly and after a long look at the struggling chick, they resumed their play… but I, on the other hand, was breathless and totally fascinated. It isn’t every day that you become the Mom of Wonder Chicken!
Lesson #10 Don’t apply past knowledge as an absolute to new situations.
Another fraction of a second went by with no further evens from Chicken Little.
He appeared to be taking a breather. My knowledge of lambing enticed me to help the chick further. Lambs, when once the labor has begun in earnest, need to be born within a reasonable time frame, or they will die. They are incredibly like humans in that respect.
Chickens don’t fall into that type of birthing process, but I didn’t think that then, so eager was I to get on with it. With urgency I began to help my little chick see the light.
Lesson # 11 Do not insist that everyone “see the light” as you do, no matter how brightly it shines.
It was with tender motherly instincts that I broke the membrane. The tiny wet thing was a marvel to behold! I held him sweetly as he struggled his way out of it and lay.. exhausted in my hands. What a moment!! Tiny little chicken bones lay covered with wet
feathers so tiny, so intricate… it was love at first sight. The Wonder Chicken was born!
The hot breeze began to dry his little self. He stirred on occasion, once even trying to get to his beautiful, spank’n new feet. But more and more he just lay there until alarm grew in me like a well-watered weed.
The light bulb came on - something was wrong with Chicken Little! I called for Rg and he came running. There was nothing he could do. Baby Wonder Chicken breathed his last before ever making eye contact with me, his wonder mama.
Lesson # 12 Don’t count your Chickens before their hatched.
We buried the dear thing late that afternoon. I mourned for Chicken Little and all that our ministry could have been for weeks. It wasn’t til months later that I came upon some enlightening facts about chickens and eggs.
Fact 1 – Chicks have what is called an “egg” tooth sticking up on the tip of their upper beak. It looks rather like a teenie rhino tooth. They use this “tooth” to poke holes in their shell and facilitate the hatching procedure. This egg tooth falls off shortly after birth.
Fact 2 – Chicks do not have sufficient muscle tone in their lung area to breath on their own until they use their egg tooth and “fight” their way out of their shell. The fight to get out is what develops the muscle needed to breath. I was stunned. I killed my own baby chick with good intentions but wrong information.
Lesson # 13 Take care how you use your authority. Check the source of information.
Look to the mother duck. Trapped in a cage with no natural, God-given way to defend her ducklings – the outcome is death.
Look to the egg. Deprived of the chance to develop his own muscle tone – the outcome is death again.
It matters not that the chicklet died a premie death at the very hand of one who not only loved him, but had a godly purpose for his teenie weenie life. It matters not that the ones who put the duck in the cage had nothing but her very best interest at heart. I had authority in these matters, and I had a plan for protection and deliverance - but no knowledge, no ears to hear the better plan.
Reflecting spiritual truths that apply to where we are in the Kingdom of God today.
What I believe Father is saying to us in this moment, in this place. Be leaders –
There is an urgency in this hour, it is true, but ours is a call to be gentle with others. This season is one where we must first of all be gentle, filled with love before being filled with “right”. To be “right” is of secondary importance in this season. To be “love” is primary.
We must be leaders in love. (In love with God yes, but also in love with others.)
Do not insist. Do not demand. Do not be determined to wield authority. That time will come but it is not yet. Though things look wrong… though it looks as if you could easily fix it – Do not insist. Do not demand. Do not give in to wield authority – yet.
Know this - “The voice that is in our ear is the word that comes from our throat.”
Take care of who you listen to, for that source will direct your authority.
Once you move in authority, satan will do everything he can do become your source. Understand that satan moves with authority. He does nothing without it. We give him legal access and he steps in immediately. Legal access must be removed before he will leave and even then he does not give up easily. So know, for a certainty, where your source of authority is before you move in it. To hold authority, as I illustrated in my farm lessons, does not make me correct, does not protect others from my actions, and does not imply that I am acting on behalf of our Father. It only means that I have learned how to use authority… it doesn’t make me an expert of anything. And it doesn’t make me right.
Know this - “The voice that is in our ear is the word that comes from our throat.”
Be so careful of your source of authority. You can move in divine authority one moment and plunge into the authority from hell the next.
Matthew 16:13-23 Peter and get behind me satan.
To know which authority you are using is to be in the place of maturity. Obey his Word and walk in divine authority, a value to His Kingdom and a terrible threat to the enemy.
Romans 10:17
Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Galations 3: 2, 5
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom..
Colossians 3:1-17
Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
Put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature… immorality, impurity, lust evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Rid yourself of these things… anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from your lips. Lies.. put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Vs 12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Vs 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another…
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus..
** Review “13 lessons” from the farm.
Know this - “The voice that is in our ear is the word that comes from our throat.”
Suggested: prayer time
Time of repentance for wielding authority wrongly, or withholding correct authority.
I repent of using authority wrongly. Of anger and slander.
Time of receiving forgiveness and refreshment.
I receive Your love and forgiveness. Your strength.
Time of commitment to seek the source of our authority regularly.
To dwell deeply in the word and live it.
Time of accountability to provide others access to our source.
To allow others to see, transparency in us.
Time of empowering to use the tool of authority rightly, continuously.
To use authority only against the evil one, not against each other.
True authority, tempered in love, wields a mighty force that cannot be denied.
