Not sure I've ever written about my chickens before! Our chicken journey started during COVID, what else does a family do with no where to go, no jobs to do...you get new animals! From 6 to 10, minus 4, to 12, to 20 minus 6, to 36, minus 5 to 24....you get the point. They have become family. SG has become obsessed, she talks to them, knows everything about them, does school reports on them. She has become okay with the poo and has seen her fair share of dead chickens, most of which are buried in my yard. I do love them too.
Last year we hatched eggs with an incubator with 4H. We put in 24 and 16 hatched. I was such an exciting experience with the kids and for us. It is amazing to watch a chick hatch. How God has created them to form so quickly, how they know from inside the egg, exactly how to crack out of that egg, how in hours they can walk.
This year we decided to invest in our own incubator. Ordered eggs to hatch. We couldn't wait! We knew we were cutting it close on the dates, since we leave for Kentucky next week, but we had counted all the days and had a plan!
>>>Side note....actually the whole theme...plans....I love them, I love to have an idea of what's happening in my world...God has taught me to be careful about plans...but I've forgotten...God used some chickens to remind me, it's not my plan<<<
The eggs didn't show up when they were supposed to, and that little tracker wasn't really helping us out! We had no idea where those eggs were! When they finally arrived all the excitement kicked in!
Candled 8 days later, pulled some out, but we expected that.
Hatch day came, and we saw a crack! Set up out google meets so we could go to school, but still see these amazing little chicks! Only one hatched....hmmm.....
later that night one more.....middle of the night one more.....next day finally another one.....
I stared at 10 eggs still in that incubator, wondering what went wrong...got pretty down about it too. As I caught myself getting ridiculous, the light bulb went off!
"Many are the plans on a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purposed that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
You see, it wasn't just the chicken plan that wasn't working out, there was another big plan that has got me trying to solve everything. We leave for Kentucky on Monday, for our Hope trip. The details and the plans of this trip have kept me up at night. Running through the plan over and over. Trying to make a plan B and maybe C. Worrying about if it all goes wrong, then what, will it be my fault...
When that light bulb went off, God said "Carly, you don't have that kind of control and power...stop it!"
I let go of the trip, I handed that to God and I haven't picked it back up...but these eggs are still sitting in the incubator, unhatched....the plans of my heart.
I believe that plans are good, I believe that being prepared for your day is a great thing. However when we get stuck in the plan, when we are unwilling to acknowledge, God is God and His purpose will prevail, that's when we get stuck. We forget all the million ways God has taken our plans and pushed them aside and let His purpose shine on through. These are the kind of weeks that I just have to keep digging into gratitude and memories of all the things God has done, to keep me from drowning in my undone/unfinished plans.
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23
That word unswervingly... not veering from the road God has us on. Not trying to take a detour around an obstacle God has put there. Having faith to trust that God is always with you, He will not leave you, or forget about you. (Deut 31:8) He has a plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:11) and he will hold your hand right on through (Isaiah 41:10)...if you believe in your heart and profess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord! (Romans 10:9)
I've preached this to myself over and over!
Next week, we will be back in Kentucky. Back in schools, back to sharing about the God who loves and saves. Plans may work great, plans may fall apart, however I will keep clinging to the truth that God's purpose will prevail! If you have the privilege of prayer, please pray for our travels and most importantly the life that will be touched and the soul that will be saved, even if it's just the one! If you'd like to follow us on our trip, visit our Facebook Page
No comments:
Post a Comment