I don't know how many of you know this, but as of now, there are over one hundred chickens living on our house premises. Meaning that very soon, we will be getting over one hundred eggs a day, and to say that the boys in my house are outnumbered is an understatement.
They are most definitely not my chickens, in any way, shape, or form, and I have actually never held a full grown chicken. My pets are the cats - all three of them - who don't peck you, or chase you, or attack you.
Am I a little bit afraid of chickens? Yes, yes I am.
But just because you're afraid of something does not mean they have nothing to teach you. And if you've ever spent a day with chickens, you will come to find that, scary as they may be, they are also hilarious, personable, and quite interesting to watch. Kinda like people.
Anyway, chickens have a lot to teach us, and I might actually do a whole series on how they can teach us about finding joy even in the most mundane occurences, or being thankful for even the smallest things. But today, we're just going to focus on contentment, because who's ever seen an un-content chicken?
Chickens are content with whatever food they're given, will lay their eggs pretty much anywhere, even a tool bench, and never complain about their housing. I mean, chickens just don't complain. They're very happy when you give them watermelon or fresh water, but they never complain when they don't have those things.
My cats, on the other hand, will whine and whine and whine, just to get a scrap of food, like there isn't about a hundred tiny critters running around our property. Or take a puppy, for example. They're never satisfied, always wanting more attention, more playtime, more toys.
But chickens just walk around their pen, pecking at the grass, taking a sip of water, and catching bugs. They're actually quite hilarious at times, and watching them can get so mesmerizing because they're just waddling - yes, chickens do waddle - around in their own worlds, happy as can be, loving life, and just content to be alive.
My Plan, My Will, My Timing
Contentment is something I have struggled with for quite some time, and most definitely still struggle with today. I wished I was born in Africa, wished my parents were missionaries, wished I was older so I could go to Africa myself, and so on and so forth.
I would look at the big map above my head and ask God why in the world I was born in the United States, and why I was still living here now. There are so many people in need, so many places just waiting for someone to visit, and I wanted to just do something.
I read missionary stories, and historical fiction, and literally any book I could get my hands on about places where I wasn't. And I think sometimes, I was mad. Mad at God for putting me in this country, in this time, just to do. . . nothing?
In a sense, I was accusing God of making a mistake in my life. By complaining about the time and place I was in, I was telling God I didn't think His plan was best, I didn't think His timing was good, and I was not trusting Him.
Contentment was not a word in my vocabulary that I lived by, in any way. Until I started reading two different books.
His Light, Your Life
That is the subtitle for the first book, Radiant, by Priscilla Shirer, which I can not recommend enough. If you haven't read this book and you're a young woman, go read it right now - here's the link. It's funny, has great stories, and is packed full of truths that we need to remember, and it changed my perspective entirely.
To say the least, this book was really good, and I could pull a hundred different notes and takeaways from it. But there was one paragraph that I read, and it was like a slap in my un-content, unjoyful, untrusting heart. This is what that paragraph said:
God has given me a mission. A supernatural assignment. He has placed me in THIS TIME, in THIS PLACE, in MY GENERATION, to perform tasks that require SOMEONE JUST LIKE ME to complete them. My mission starts NOW, TODAY, by being faithful and obediant to everything he puts before me. This is His will for me.
Simply to follow Him.
I think I read that about a hundred times, over and over and over again, because it punched me in the gut with the truth: if God wanted me in Africa, He would have put me in Africa. If His plan was for me to live and work in Afghanistan, then I would be in Afghanistan.
But. . . I'm not. I'm here, in this family, in this home, in this state, for a reason. God doesn't make mistakes, and He most certainly didn't mess up in putting me exactly where I am.
Or you.
Now is the time God has given us, this second the only breath He has promised us, and we're going to waste it complaining? We're going to miss the plan He has for us here, by wishing we were somewhere else? Or someone else?
God did not create you to fix this world. He did not create me to save everyone, or love everyone, or serve everyone. He created us for His glory, for His purpose, for His plan.
He created us to follow Him, and enjoy His presence. And just be content being with Him.
I made that paragraph the lock screen on my phone for probably a couple of months, as I slowly allowed God to teach me contentment, and show me how to simply follow Him. And He's still teaching me. That same map is still above my bed, and every time someone mentions orphans or people in need, my heart aches.
I still want to go and do something, go and love the people God has put on this earth, and I believe God will open doors for me to do that someday, but in His timing, not mine. I hope there comes a day when I will set foot on the red soil of Uganda, but for now, I am learning to be content here, with the people God has put around me.
Today is the only day we are guaranteed. And all we need to do is follow Him.
Kisses From Katie
Kisses from Katie is one of those books that you read, and then never forget. Or one of those books that you read, and wish you were the heroine - and yes, Katie Davis is a heroine, and my hero.
Do I sometimes wish I was her? Yes, yes I do. But, like I said, God is teaching me contentment and joy in who I am. So I only wish I was her sometimes.
Kisses from Katie is the story of a young woman, Katie Davis, who goes to Uganda in the gap year between high school and college. And ends up staying in Uganda for over a year, adopts 14 girls, and starts her own ministry. She does this all before she even starts college.
Now you see why she is my hero.
But her story gave me a lot more than an appreciation for Uganda and a love for those people. It showed me that there will never be an end to people who are in need her on this earth. There will never be an end to poverty, an end to orphans, or an end to people who desperately need Christ's love. Not until He comes back.
And that can be so overwhelming. It used to overwhelm me, and I'd lie in bed and cry because there were so many girls like me not lying in beds.
At first, Katie was overwhelmed too. For all the children she helped, all the children she was able to give scholarships for school, there were five more she couldn't help. But God was teaching her, too.
Teaching her that the world is in His hands, not hers. Teaching her that He loves the little children far more than she does, and will take care of them. And most of all, He taught her, and me as I read Katie's story, that this world is not our home. This world is not the end. The evil and brokenness we see here will be righted one day, and God will wipe all the tears off our faces.
In the meantime, our job is not to love everyone. It is to love God first, and to love the people that He places in our lives, not be overwhelmed with trying to love every person He has put in this world.
God taught me, through Kisses from Katie, contentment in His control, and in His love for this world. And to remember that I am not God, I am merely His servant, showing anyone He puts in my life what His love looks like.
Contentment is Not Apathy
Before I close, I have to make the very distinct point that contentment is not in any way apathy.
To be content is to be in a state of peaceful happiness - resting in God's blessings, and at peace with His plan for your life - and to be satisfied.
Apathy, on the other hand, is a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Big difference there, yet many people think they are one and the same, and they either get offended when someone tells them to be content or instead of being content, they're apathetic.
We should never be apathetic about the brokenness of this world, but we can be content and at peace in knowing that God is in control, and there will come a day when every wrong will be righted.
We should never be apathetic about loving God's people, or evangelizing, or trying to reach the world with the Gospel, but we should be content in knowing we don't save anyone, God does.
So, the next time you see a chicken, calmly going about their day, happy and joyful in whatever their circumstances are, remember that God is in control, He has a plan, and He loves you.
And you can be content in that.