Winter came with surprises.

It was time to put the mower away.

What now?

Chickens.

That’s what I heard.

Buy chickens.

If the Lord wanted me to get chickens, I was getting chickens.

I called my dad to talk this over. I told him I was going to the feed store to get 5 chicks.

I asked him what all I needed.

First, he laughed and said…you now live in the country. You will need at least 30 chicks and you will be lucky to still have 5 chickens when next year comes.

He went on to tell me I just needed a box, some newspaper, feed, and a heat lamp.

He had everything but the chicks and feed.

With no coop—ha!

Just a box.

I went to the store, bought 30 chicks, came home, set up the box in the living room, and raised my first batch of chicks.

God provided all the materials for free and we built a chicken coop.

My dad laughed again. My coop was so big, he said I could have bought a 100 chicks.

I called it the Chick Mansion.

It was in raising my chicks though that I began to hear God’s voice…like really hear His voice.

He began to teach me so many lessons.

Everything was like a parable…a farm happening with a deep heavenly meaning.

Surprisingly, I began to have joy again…but this joy was so different.

It was unlike any joy I’ve experienced in the past.

Who would of thought moving to the country could birth something so unexpected?

Not this city girl.

My chicks became my closest friends…from the living room box, to the trough in the garage, to the coop in the pasture, I only lost 4 chickens.

Yep…my nosy hens decided they wanted to stick around to see what the Lord was up to in this season.

And I decided to stick around too!

God had so much more to teach me.

He was ready to grow me.