Unlike my tomatoes, my strawberries had the right goal all along. They were thriving, pushing their greenness toward the sun and sending little balls of sweet red goodness off in every direction.
My strawberries had found their purpose in life. They were living large and accomplishing their dreams.
One morning I came out to find that much of my strawberry patch had been torn up and the strawberry plants were thrown all around and otherwise trampled. Before I blamed the kids, I observed for awhile and found that it wasn't the kids who had done this, it was the chickens.
Most of the dirt in my yard is covered in something that is growing or mulch. The strawberry patch is an exception. The birds found that the strawberry patch was the perfect place for a dirt bath, except the strawberries were in the way. The chickens didn't have anything against the strawberries, but they needed that dirt to bathe. The strawberries depended on the dirt to reach their goals, it was the foundation of everything strawberries were able to become.
The chicken went after the strawberries, not to destroy the strawberries, but to be able to use the dirt for a bath. The strawberries were scratched, pecked and otherwise trampled and pushed out of the way so that the chickens could use the dirt for another purpose.
My thoughts are done. I like the tomato story better. I need to find a conclusion to this one. The lesson could be that some will trample your goals and dreams just to get at something they want, but I don't like that. Surely there is a better lesson here.
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3 comments:
Hmmm..maybe the parable is about protecting your dreams and your aspirations from those who would stand in your way to get what they want.
Or...maybe the parable has to do with protecting those you love from outside influences that can harm them.
No matter how I think about it, the parables sound daunting. Thats a bummer.
And...I am really bummed that your chickens destroyed your strawberries.
:(
um yeah. this is exactly why my chickens are not "free range". they get a really big fenced yard - but no way do i let them near anything i actually want to keep. they even dig up my bulbs.
and i hate to rain on your parade, but the "growing and mulched" stuff will be the next target. when my chickens do get out, they dig the bark pathways down at least 4-5 inches to find the bugs hiding under the bark.
they are voracious hunters who will dust bathe and dig anywhere. i'm just sayin. . .
Maybe the parable is about sometimes dreams and aspirations are trampled but we have to be grateful for the gifts that came before?
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