Today’s Word from Deacon Amy…
“Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem” Isaiah 52:1
Over the years, we have had several different animals come and leave on our little farm. Some were born here and moved on to different families, some came to us at in their middle years and stayed for the rest of their days, and some were with us for a shorter period of time. There is always an adjustment period when a new animal comes to the farm. Throughout all of this time, we have learned a few tricks to make the transitions to their new home easier.
With chickens, we’ve found it best to sneak the new birds into the coop at night. For some reason, when they wake up in the morning, the flock doesn’t seem to mind the change, and the new birds don’t take much time at all to fit right in.
Goats seem to take longer to adjust. They need to spend some serious time getting used to their new surroundings and their new herdmates.
Last week, my youngest daughter had an opportunity to bring home a beautiful new goat. This sweet girl will be her show goat for the next several years, and will hopefully provide some adorable kids for us during that time (not to mention milk, soap, and cheese!). Miss Zion is a wonderful addition to our farm.
The evening that we brought her home, we put her into a smaller pen that’s fairly close to the house, and brought one of our calmer goats in to be her companion. We made them a cozy bed in the barn, gave them a good dinner, and closed the door to keep them tucked in safe at night.
Starting on her second day here, Lia would take Zion out of the field a few times a day to practice walking on a lead, and to visit some of the other animals. By day four, she was spending time grazing with some of our other does. On day five, we took her to visit another friend’s farm.
Within just a week, she’s learned to look for and follow Lia. She’s walking much more calmly on a lead, the other goats have accepted her into the herd, and it’s obvious that she is adjusting wonderfully to her new home.
With a little kindness, companionship, and some extra steps taken to help her feel comfortable, Miss Zion is already feeling right at home.
I think it’s important for everyone to have a sense of “home” somewhere, whether that be an actual house, family or a loved one, a wonderful group of coworkers, or perhaps a family of Christians who gather to worship together each Sunday morning.
So where is it that you feel at home? And how are you helping others to feel at home?
See you in church!
Deacon Amy
