This past Sunday I had an opportunity to share at church something that God had been showing me and I thought I would share it here too..
Almost a year ago, Dave, the children and I went to pick up some rare breed chicks. We were so excited, as they grew it became apparent that out of the lot of them there were only 3 hens. There were 2 beautiful Black Copper Maran hens and 1 strange little bantam mix. Looking at her I was unimpressed, she was not what I wanted when we bought our chicks, she was small, she was not pretty as far as chickens go. Once she started laying, her eggs were easily 1/2 the size as the other hens, unimpressive but not a surprise.
Honestly, I wondered why we should bother keeping her, yet my children all saw something I did not, they all loved her and and they gave her the name Popcorn. A few months ago, if you had asked me to describe her finer points to you I would have struggled to come up with even one nice thing to say about her. She was not the breed I wanted, she was not big enough, she was not pretty…
Similarly, if we listen to what the world has to say about each one of us we will hear, “You are not smart enough, tall enough, pretty enough, strong enough, wealthy enough, you don’t have it together enough….” I could go on and on about how many different ways the world will tell you, that you just don’t measure up.
However, this is not the message that you will hear from God, He loves you and He wants to know you. Bottom-line YOU MATTER TO GOD!
…but what about my little hen?
We decided to hatch some eggs out this spring and our children all really wanted to see what Popcorn’s chicks would look like. We figured we would let them put some of her eggs in the incubator too. Her eggs were the only ones to hatch. A couple of other eggs hatched but the chicks didn’t make it. Popcorn’s eggs had an 80% hatch rate which is fantastic.
Then we noticed that she had gone broody so we decided to stick some of the other hen’s eggs under her to see what would happen. She sat on those eggs faithfully. The other hens would come along to lay their eggs and she would not move. They would sit on top of her to lay their eggs and then she would carefully tuck their eggs under her too. ( We would gently sneak the fresh eggs out.) She took amazing care of the eggs we gave her and all 6 of them hatched! She is now cautiously watching over her chicks and is proving to be a wonderful little Momma.
When I judged her I did not see her full potential, just as the world does not see YOUR full potential, but God does!
In Isaiah 41: 9-10 it says, “I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 
Whenever you may be tempted to listen to all the world has to say, REMEMBER, He has chosen YOU, He has not rejected you. Your size, your wealth, your weight, matter little when it comes to your potential. You have gifts and abilities that are unique to YOU! He will give you strength to accomplish what He has set before you.
In Jeremiah 31:3 it says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” He loved you before you took your first breath and He will never stop loving you! God knows your potential, and you MATTER to God.
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I love this, Cheryl. It is such a perfect reminder that we all have worth and meaning to God! Thanks for this!
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Go figure, we can even learn from hens. What a great reminder. And the chicks are too cute!
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This brought me to tears. You are so right in your assessment and this something I struggle with daily both with the thoughts of myself and with my sometimes unkind thoughts of others. As I am growing with my faith, those thoughts are becoming rarer and rarer, but it is always nice to have a kind reminder. xoxo
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What a beautiful post! I'm glad you kept your little hen.
Ohhhhhhhhhh, popcorn is a GREAT name (my favorite food!). She looks like a fluffy feather blanket. What a sweet hen. Glad you heard the wisdom in your kids' words and gave her a chance.
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What a great post! And what a beautiful hen your Popcorn is! (Love the name too – seems just perfect:)
It's so easy for us to focus on what we are not, and try to improve (?) there, instead of focusing on what we already are, and allowing ourselves to shine through these things. We have to have faith in ourselves too:)
Thanks so much for sharing,
Kristina
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Very inspirational words Cheryl and the added clips from the Bible carried me away. No matter what and who we are, where we came from and whatever status in life we are in; always remember God stays with us!
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Thanks Arjhae!
You're very much welcome Cheryl! I'll look forward to your future mind-opening posts!
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What a fantastic post! Such a beautiful story and so true. Not to mention that Popcorn's chicks are just adorable! What a great lesson for everyone! We may not be a,b or c, but we are probably great at x,y and z! Love it! Here from vB!
Kim
My Twintastic Life
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Kim you are so right and we just need to embrace our x y and z and not compare it to a b and c. x y and z are just as important if not more!!
Oh what God sees in us. It's thrilling to think about isn't it? And I do think that Popcorn is pretty cute I must say!
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Shannon she has really grown on me, and she is cute in her own unique way.
Cute post. Great lesson. It reminds me of this verse.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29
We can see that in the hen. He see's a precious creature, which may be foolish to all those around, but He sees something with which His glory can shine through.
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So true Sarah, and you know out of all the other hens she is the one who has contributed the most. It is an encouragement that while we may think we have little to offer we are the one and only us and no one else can contribute what we as individuals bring to the table.
I LOVE this post! I especially loved the pic of other hens laying ON TOP of her! But what a great end result! And a great life lesson!
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There really are lessons all around us if we look for them aren’t there?
Awesome story!! I got chills. I love it. I'm so glad you have a platform to share stories like this. Thanks!!
Amazing! And I agree with your reply above…there are definitely lessons in appreciation all around us. Those little chicks are so cute!!!
What a beautiful encouragement. Thank you.
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I love this, and 'Popcorn' what a great name! Great analogy girl, loved every second of this! Isn't it amazing how the Lord will show us things thru every day this and that's.
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I love this post! It so amazing how we tend to miss the deeper things. I just popped over to congratulate you on make the Top 10 Mommy Blogger of 2013. Clearly you have way more important stuff going on. But you deserve the recognition.
Thank you so much that means a lot!!