Eggs in my Basket

When I was a little girl we had chickens, laying hens and a rooster. There was a nice little red chicken house on our farm where the chickens roosted and laid their eggs. One of my jobs involved gathering the eggs in the orange plastic-coated wire basket. I loved gathering eggs and grew to respect the hens.

Some of the hens would allow you to gather the eggs they were sitting on, however, some did not. My childhood arms got pecked fiercely sometimes so I learned to be very cautious. I also helped scatter the feed for the chickens in the barnyard where the chickens were allowed to scavenge all day.

At dusk it was time to shoo the chickens back into their house and close the door securely to keep them safe from a nasty demise. In the dark there were roaming creatures who longed for the taste of the chickens. Foxes, skunks, weasels and more were the chicken house criminals.

The chickens were the first ones up in the morning. The rooster made his cock-a-doodle-doo sound loud enough to jar you from the soundest sleep. I remember how loud he was when my north bedroom window was open.

Once in the middle of the night I heard s loud screaming noice and notified mom and dad. Daddy got his gun and a flashlight and headed to the chicken house where he shot a weasel who was attacking the chickens. I don't remember how many chickens the weasel got but it seems like several were killed that night. The weasel got into the chicken house through a hole in the wall, that promptly got repaired.

Jesus also warned of a coming demise, trying to warn the people of something they couldn't understand.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,'" (Matthew 23:37-39 NIV).

Let us be aware and alert. Jesus is coming again one day and we are to be ready.