Disclaimer: This is not Martha's egg...but still big!
"I am going fishing." - Peter (John 21:3)
It was after everything he knew about Jesus died on a cross and was buried in a borrowed grave. He saw him die but he also saw him after he died. Something was going on and he didn't understand what it was. All Peter knew was that what God was doing was different than what he had secretly hoped for. He didn't know his place, but he did no how to fish. So that is what he did.
In the face of uncertainty, Peter did what he knew.
When we first started with our backyard chickens, we had a mother hen and six beautiful eggs. We soon had six soft, adorable chicks! These cute little chicks soon grew into three beautiful hens and three handsome roosters. We couldn't keep roosters in town, so we had to give them away.
However, I am happy to say that all three found great homes. In fact, there was one gentleman that was so thrilled with his new rooster, he gave us an old, mangy, nervous hen. We didn't really want this hen and it seemed more fair to us that he keep his ugly white hen, thank you. No thank you. But he insisted. He knew something about this hen we didn't...
We finally conceded as now the other chickens were agitated. We could tell the poor hen was scared and traumatized by the move and unfamiliar space. We made her as comfortable as possible and couped her up with the other girls and went to bed. We still didn't know what to do the next morning, but when we went out to check on the growing flock, our new, nervous chicken had laid the largest egg we had ever seen!
In the face of uncertainty, that hen (we soon named, Martha) did what she knew.
And she continued to lay gigantic eggs...for years and years. She was amazing and we still talk about her. She soon settled in to the flock and grew a new set of beautiful feathers. We loved Martha well and she continued to lay gigantic eggs.
When you are going through difficult times...it could be at work or at home or with your health...it is important to take a lesson from Martha and Peter; keep doing what you do. I know, I usually say to do less, but sometimes the routine of something you know and are good at gets you through those difficult times. I am not saying that you shouldn't stop periodically, but when life throws you a curve and the world speeds up, sometimes doing what you do slows it down just a little and allows you to settle in and see what Jesus is doing in a different light.
Less doing. More being.