Egg Watch
Today we begin with something a bit philosophical, somewhat mind-bending, and a persistent head-scratcher:
Which came first - the chicken or the egg?
You’d think I’d be able to answer that, being a chicken owner. Especially this year.
This year we weren’t able to order chicks like the past two years, so we decided to “make our own.” As it turns out, 10 hens plus one rooster, along with a couple incubators and a “mother hen” of a human will do the trick.
Last weekend involved a lot of egg watching and egg hatching. This was not just a time of passive waiting. There was monitoring to keep the incubator temperature and humidity within proper ranges. Preparing the brooder, which is the next home for the chicks after hatching in the incubator. Acquiring the right feed and chick-booster to ensure the new life could thrive, and then being ready to house and care for the bigger stages of chicken life.
So how does this relate to Lent? Lent reminds us to actively wait, to want, a new life of Christ within us. It is not a time of passive waiting until Easter. We should be monitoring, examining, how we are doing with our Lenten promises. Preparing our hearts, which have an incredible potential to be better at the end of Lent than at the beginning. Acquiring knowledge of Scripture or entering into more intentional times of prayer and fasting can help ensure new life within each of us. And then, the big goal is that we enter into these annual training sessions of Lent, and each time come out tested, stretched, and hopefully with growth in the ways that God intends for us.
I have to admit, I jumped ahead to Easter when I saw empty egg shells in the incubator last weekend. Something about two egg shell halves on their side, laying empty, reminded me of the empty tomb with the stone rolled off to the side. However, as I’m reminded by my daily Lenten reflections, today is Day 31 of Lenten training (Sundays included). I need to snap back to actively waiting and my Lenten training. We are over two-thirds of the way to Easter. Keep actively waiting, keep training! May our Lenten watch be an active watch with growth and new life waiting for us.
