Once upon a
time, there was a beautiful farm tended by the Brown family. Farmer Brown was a hard-working, friendly
sort of fellow with a close and loving family.
The animals of the farm loved them all, but they were especially devoted
to his youngest daughter Susie. Every
morning she as she made her rounds from pen to pen to feed them, she greeted
each animal with a cheery hello and a friendly pat. No matter how cold and rainy and miserable
the night had been, the animals knew that their mornings would start off bright
and cheery because of her.
One morning,
however, Susie did not come to the barn to feed the animals. Her older brother Joe, who came to feed them
instead, was friendly and kind. But
everyone missed Susie and wondered where she was. Eventually the dog scampered down from the
house with the news. “Susie is very
ill,” he reported. “Mrs. Brown took her
to the hospital in the middle of the night and is still there with her. The whole family is very worried.” The mood in the barnyard shifted in an
instant as curiosity became concern.
Even though it was a bright sunny day, a heavy dark cloud of
apprehension hung over them all.
The next
morning, when Joe came once again to feed the animals, everyone saw the
distress in his eyes. It was apparent
that he hadn’t slept all night. A few
minutes later, the dog arrived with more sad news. “Susie is has gotten worse. The doctors say that she will not get better
without a special kind of medicine, but Farmer Brown does not have enough money
to pay for it.” As the news sunk in, the
cow suddenly spoke up. “I have an idea!”
she exclaimed. “Let’s put on a
fund-raising dinner to pay for Susie’s medicine so she can get better!”
The barnyard
suddenly filled with excitement as all the animals discussed the cow’s
idea. They were eager to be able to help
the little girl that the loved so much.
After much discussion, the chicken got everyone’s attention. “All the humans love a big meal at the start
of the day, just like we love the food that Susie brings us in the
morning. I propose that we have a ham
and egg breakfast. I will happily supply
the eggs. Who will provide the ham?”
All eyes
turned to the pig, who slowly and thoughtfully stood up in his pen and looked
at the chicken. “If you give eggs for
the dinner,” he said, “you can go on as you always have,” he said. “But my help means that I have to commit my
very life. But because I love Susie, I
will do it.” The barnyard fell silent as
everyone realized the sacrifice the pig was willing to make.
Are you a
chicken or a pig? When you express your
devotion and love to God, are you able to go on with life as usual? Or does your commitment to him change
everything about who you are?
