The three surviving baby chicks we hatched several weeks ago in the incubator were cute with their downy, yellow feathers. They looked like little balls of fluff as they toddled around uncertainly in their protective box, kept warm by a heat bulb.
Finally the growing chicks graduated to a wire-covered cage in the barn. But now they were awkward-looking and gangly! Worst of all, their feathers stood out at crazy angles as if they'd been caught in a wind storm! Since we had three roosters, we weren't sure what their heritage would be, much as we hoped they were Araucanas.
Last week we deemed the young chickens ready to mix with the rest of the flock, though we feared the dominating rooster might be rough on them at first. Sure enough, he tried to flog them, making the newcomers retreat inside the hen house to huddle in the shadows of the nesting boxes.
I save table scraps as a treat for the penned-up chickens and hoped to entice the young ones to come out. Now they are making dashing forays into the big pen once in a while, on the outside chance they can grab a morsel.
But the strangest thing has happened! I hadn't noticed the scaredy-cat chicks for awhile, but when they dashed out recently I was amazed! They were beautiful! They have feathered out nicely with the prettiest wings, dark feathers glistening over the mottled softness underneath. I think they are Araucanas after all.
Isn't that the way it is with growing children? Cute and adorable as babies, they usually reach an awkward stage as they grow up. They not only look like gangly, if endearing, colts, they often feel "dumb," clumsy and insecure. They need the support and encouragement of family more than ever at this vulnerable age. Not only of family, but spiritual support from and involvement with their church to strengthen them against negative factors they face.
Even as the old rooster is out to pounce on the vulnerable young flock, the Bible warns in I Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
There is nothing more rewarding to parents than to one day look at our off-spring and see the beauty of Jesus in our grown-up "chicks!"
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