Picture by: Paula Ann Feres-Atalla

            A friend sent me a picture of a nest full of dead eggs. Her Rhode Island Red hen had gone missing and they thought the other hens were taking a break from laying eggs, as hens sometimes do. They found Rosie and almost two dozen eggs in a spent tomato patch. She was brooding.

            Now, brooding can be positive or negative. As a noun, “BROOD” is a benign character of “nest, offspring or species.” Even under its verb wearing hat, “BROOD” may be innocent as it “sets, incubates, ponders or meditates.” However, “BROOD” often acts as glumly and foreboding as it sounds. A brooding hen will get downright cantankerous if one disrupts her nesting. Hens brood regardless of whether or not a rooster fertilizes the eggs on which they set. Without fertilization, the quiet anticipation turns to fruitless “chewing the cud.”

            I am reminded of my own brooding. Hurts and faults, both my own and those of others, which I refuse to get over. I’ve wasted hours fretting and worrying over finances or outcomes well beyond my control. I hinder my health and peace of mind when I choose bitterness over “betterness”. I choose bitter over better when I choose not to forgive or “forgive but do not forget.” Every time I choose to complain instead of offer grace, I choose bitter over better. Every time I recount someone’s faults or offenses, I choose bitter over better. Similarly, silently simmering behind a sweet smile has the same affect as nesting upon dead eggs.

            So, what is a chick to do when her feathers get ruffled or her plans do not hatch as she had hoped?

            She finds that quiet, restful, good brooding place beside her Heavenly Father and she breathes deeply of His peace and waits in stillness and trust until He “fertilizes” those eggs and guides her to fruitful ventures.