Mother Hen

Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you - never.

Isaiah 49:15

I was eating breakfast at our resident mai shai (local café) yesterday morning when mother hen came by with her seven little chicks in tow, chirping in harmony. She was squawking something furious about her kids not having had something to eat so I decided to share my food with them. I tossed her some crumbs and with each piece of bread that fell to the ground, she'd pick it up and place it in front of one of the chicks. She herself did not eat a thing. "Just how desperate is she to feed her young'uns?" I wondered. So I showed her a piece of bread in my hand but I didn't drop it. Well, she jumped right up and plucked the crumb out of my fingers and dutifully set it in front of the next chick.

I was momentarily distracted, and when I came to I discovered that they had stopped their noisy chirping. I looked to see what had become of the family but all I could see was mother hen in an awkward pose, halfway between a stand and a squat with little chick feet sticking out from underneath. She was gathering them under her wings to shelter then from the harmattan cold. Her posture seemed to be most uncomfortable - she could not stand fully since she wanted to keep them warm, but she could not squat either as her weight might crush them under. So she just half-stood there. The sight reminded me of one of those classic punishments from secondary school.

The care of a mother hen for her chicks is legendary. Even Jesus refers to it, exclaiming, "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! … How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me." (Matthew 23:37) Such was his compassion for people. But he did more than just care. You see, God did not just risk His life to give us a good meal. He did more. He gave it up. He actually, really, died so that we might live. He goes the extra mile, everyday, just for our sake so we can live healthy, sleep soundly and eat bountifully. He's always on the lookout for us, even when we're as clueless to His means as those chicks were to the hassles of their mother.

Well, thank God for that!

With love, Doosuur.