Our chickens have had it rough on the farm. We slowly lost our flock of birds to predators throughout the spring and summer. We got down to one rooster. He was all alone, wandering alone during the day and spending nights in the coop by himself. This rooster looked around and couldn’t find all of his buddies; maybe he noticed what had happened to them. So he struck out to find some friends.
The friends he found were gruff and can tend to stink, but they provided companionship. In fact, the rooster realized there were benefits to this community. The predators stay away. They are very messy eaters so they provide a good amount of food to pick through after they leave the trough. The chicken has found new friends in the pigs. While some would suggest the chicken should be careful, because the pigs may decide they would like some chicken with their corn, the relationship seems to be mutual. The pigs aren’t aggressive toward the chicken, and they all have plenty of space to enjoy life together.
Homesteaders have long ran chickens and pigs together in the same area for their symbiotic relationship. Farm animals have herd instincts. They want to have friends! They need one another.
2020 has surely shown us the same thing! We are not meant for isolation. We need friends. We need a community. We offer mutual benefits to one another. We need different people with diverse skill sets and backgrounds. Depression, suicide, drug and alcohol dependency, and loneliness come when we aren’t around our friends. God made us this way. From the beginning He said it was “not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Social media and Zoom calls aren’t enough! We need face-to-face time with people. This is one of the big purposes of the local church! God created the church so we would have mutual love, encouragement, edification, and strength. The church provides a family for those who are lonely!
Are you a lonely chicken looking around and realizing things just aren’t right in your world? Turn off the screens; re-engage with family and friends! Go to church to be with others! They may look or even act like pigs sometimes (haha), they certainly aren’t perfect, but you will discover they offer you many blessings.
