Crazy Things

 Has God ever told you to do something that you thought was completely crazy? This happened to me just the other day. I was driving home, it was drizzling, and chilly. I spotted something on the side of the road that looked like a chicken. I, strongly, felt God tell me to go back, and get that chicken. I’m ashamed to admit that I argued with God. What am I going to do with a chicken? It probably wasn’t even a chicken, it was probably a piece of trash, and I just thought it was a chicken. I turned around to go back, and I easily found it again. It was, most definitely, a chicken. I sat in the car for a few minutes, then got out to assess the situation. My thought was, I’m just going to move it away from the road. It was so close to the road, if it was any closer, then it would be on the road. So I picked it up, moved it over as far as I could, and set it down I got back in my car, and prepred to drive away. I wanted to hit the drive button, and drive off, but I couldn’t. The chicken was wet, shaking from cold, alone, and bloody. I was still asking God what I was supposed to do with a chicken. I felt Him ask me, so you’re just going to leave it on the side of the road to die alone and cold? Ouch! My heart was already hurting for this poor creature. I looked around my car, and my eye fell on a jacket I had left in the car. It can be washed, was my thought. I could wrap the chicken up in the jacket, and figure out something to do with it. Then I remembered a towel that my youngest daughter had left in the car. That would work perfectly. So I got out of the car, went around and got the towel, then wrapped the towel around the chicken, and set her in the front passenger floor board of the car. By this time she was audibly crying, it broke my heart even more. As I closed the car door I said to God, “ok so what am I going to do with this chicken?” We have 3 dogs, who would have probably tried to eat the chicken. God brought two people to my mind who may be able to help me. I called one of them, explained the situation, and she was willing to take the chicken to try to nurse it back to health. 

The next day, I got a text from my friend, the chicken didn’t make it, she had passed away. I cried. Even though I was expecting this, I was confused as to what was the purpose of me rescuing the chicken, for it to still pass away. I decided the purpose was for that chicken to know love and compassion before it passed, and for her to not be alone, cold, and scared when it died. I’m sure that chicken was meant to be on someone’s dinner plate. That she had fallen off of a meat truck headed to slaughter. I’m also sure that she had probably not had a good life. I was happy that I could show her love and compassion, and get her out of the cold rain, before she passed. This morning, during my quiet time, I was praying, and thinking. The chicken came to mind. I was still confused as to the purpose of me rescuing the chicken. I felt God say to me that the purpose was not to save the chicken’s life, it wasn’t even to show it love and compassion, although that was something good that came out of it. The purpose was for me to be obedient to Him. Ouch! How obedient was I really? I argued with God about turning around, I argued with Him about taking the chicken, I questioned what I was supposed to do with her, I acted like a child. Yes, I did what I was told to do, but not without arguing, and complaining first. As a parent, I know this is not obedience. God was showing me what I needed to work on, and how I need to be fully obedient to Him, without questions, and without arguing. Partial obedience is really just disobedience after all. So yes, God will ask us to do some crazy things, but there is always a purpose for everything that God does, and everything that He asks of us. We must be obedient to Him, and trust that He will bring good from everything.