A Farm Fresh Faith Miracle

Where Did Black Chicken Go?

“How many black chickens do we have?” my husband asked as he came into the house.

“We had three, but since Black Chicken went missing, we’re down to two,” I replied.

“Well, I just found Black Chicken.”

“WHAT?!! Where was she?” I asked, dreading the answer. What must her lifeless body look like after being missing over two weeks?

The Surprising Discovery

My husband told me that as he was working in our garden, our old farm dog, Duke, started barking and scratching at a big black bucket that was sitting just about ten feet from the chicken coop. David moved in to investigate what had captured Duke’s attention. Careful, with shovel in hand, expecting to find a snake under the bucket, he was shocked to find Black Chicken – ALIVE!

Black Chicken was alive! It was almost as if she had come back from the dead! So much so, that she now has a new name: Lazarita, affectionately named after the famous Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.

Surviving the Impossible

She was in terrible shape. Sometime between two to three weeks, Black Chicken had somehow managed to survive in her dark, sweltering dungeon under the bucket! All we can figure is that when it rained, enough water would flow under the bucket, and she must have found a few bugs under there to hold her over so long.

Weak and barely able to stand, we kept her separated from our other hens and housed her in our dogs’ huge kennel on our carport. It took a few days for her muscles to get strong enough that we could let her out to wander around the yard. Sometimes she shared the kennel with two of our dogs, which was quite funny to see.

Soon Lazarita was healthy enough to survive being reunited with her flock. But, she had not changed her old ways, however she did start having some new ways – she sort of had a new home. She still got out of the pen everyday and in the evenings Lazarita would be back in the dog kennel, on her board, ready to go to sleep.

The Horror Under the Bucket

When I think of Lazarita’s ordeal, I am horrified imagining what those two-three weeks in the dark grip of death under that terrible bucket must have been like for her. It almost makes me cry.

Alone. Dark. Starving. Thirsting. Hot.

Life was just on the other side of that black wall, but she couldn’t get herself out. She was doomed to death until someone found her—until someone lifted that bucket of death off her dying body. Until someone fed and watered her and nurtured her back to new life.

Lazarita was so close to death that believe that’s how Duke found her.

The Human Condition

I can’t help but think that this sad picture is so like how many people are living in our world today.

• Alone

• In the dark

• Starving

• Thirsting

• On the brink of death

And apart from salvation in Jesus Christ, they are heading straight to the flaming, overpowering heat of Hell.

People who we pass by everyday are like Lazarita was under that bucket – dying a slow, lonely, painful death.

The Beautiful Difference

The beautiful thing is that people are not hidden under a bucket where they can’t be seen and heard. Jesus knows each and every one by name. And He has made the way for the “bucket to be lifted” for any and all who would ask Him!

Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While we’re still trapped under the bucket of all our sin, Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. Jesus has made the way. For me. For your neighbours. For the person who cut you off at the traffic stop. For the cashier who is having a bad day. For the ex who abandoned you. For the crook who robbed you. And for YOU!

Jesus is the Way.

Our Call to Action

Just as surely as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead—literally! —He wants to do the same for every one of us. We are the living who are walking among the living-dead every day! Jesus offers salvation to all and He has commanded His followers to be vessels to pour out this good news to those we meet daily.

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Jesus paid the price for the sin of any person who will ask Him for forgiveness and who will submit their life to His Lordship. Jesus desires all men to be saved.

He calls on us to be people who will see others and “lift the buckets” off their lives so they can be set free from the bondage of sin.

Will you walk on by going about your busy day?

Or will you take a moment to share a smile, or a kind word? Will you go so far as to pray with someone you meet? How might you be lifting the bucket a bit for your waitress when she takes your order and you ask her how you can pray for her?

Reflection Questions:

• Have you ever felt trapped “under a bucket” in your own life? Alone, in the dark, seemingly without hope? How did God meet you in that place?

• Who in your daily life might be living “under a bucket” right now? How can you help to life that bucket off?

• What are some practical ways you can “lift buckets” for others this week? Who? How?

• Like our good, old farm dog, Duke, found Lazarita, how can we be more alert to those around us who need rescuing?

• After her rescue, Lazarita developed new habits and found a new home. How has your relationship with Jesus changed your daily rhythms and where you find rest?What fears or hesitations hold you back from sharing God’s love with others? How might Lazarita’s story inspire you to overcome them?

I would love to hear from you! Will you please email me and let me know if this story has inspired or impacted you in any way? I would so appreciate hearing how you respond to some of these reflection questions as well!

Thank you for taking the time to read my Farm Fresh Faith stories!

By the way, this isn’t the end of Lazarita’s adventures. Next month I will share with you another adventure of my confused, but loving, hen.