An Unusual Adoption Story

You may or may not know, but my family has a bunch of chickens, and we love them dearly.  We originally got chickens as a fun way for the kids to earn spending money by selling the eggs.  However, they have also been an unexpected way to understand some passages from the Bible.  They have also been an incredible example of how powerful a mother's love can be.
 
Before I get into my adoption story, I want to share three verses:
 
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me." Luke 13:34
 
"He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings, you will find safety. He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower" Psalm 91:4
 
"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:5-6

 
My story: 

We have a chicken we call Mama A, because she loves being a mama.  (Her real name is Agnus).  The problem is, she is not very good at hatching eggs.  
 
There are many reasons her eggs don't hatch, sometimes it's because we didn't have a rooster, or sometimes it's because another chicken kicks her out of the nesting box.  (p.s.- if you've never had chickens, you need to know that no matter how many boxes you have, they always have a favorite box!)  A few weeks ago, her problem was that she wasn't actually sitting on any eggs.  
 
Poor Mama A was faithfully sitting in her nesting box, but there was nothing under her. Mama A wants to be a mama so much, that she will sit in her box all day and night, almost never getting out to eat or drink.  
 
The only solution when Mama A gets like this is to give her chicks to adopt.  She has successfully adopted baby chicks 3 times.
 
It's an absolutely beautiful thing to watch.  
 
We get chicks at Tractor Supply, and sneak in at night while she's sleeping.  We gently tuck the little chicks next to her in the nesting box, and she immediately knows what to do.  She opens her wings and pulls the babies in under her wing.
 
Something you may not know is that chickens make a special cluck when they have chicks.  As soon as Mama A feels her chicks under her wings, she makes her happy mama cluck.  This cluck is how her babies know where she is.  
 
I don't have many pictures of Mama A with her babies because she is fiercely protective of them.  As soon as I try to get close, she does her special cluck and her babies run to her and hide under her wings.
 
Now, go back and re-read the three verses I shared.  If a chicken who isn't even smart enough to know she isn't sitting on eggs knows how to be an incredible parent, how much better is God! God might not cluck, but he does speak to us, and calls us close to him.  Are you listening?
 
 
❤️Carrie