Hen & Chicks: Dirt Between My Toes

I think I want to write again. The first day is always the easiest, don’t you think? All the ideas and topics swirling through your head. What should be the first post? What next? Why do we as women try to figure it all out? What makes it so hard to just take each minute as it comes? What does it matter if I plan out what I will talk about for the next two weeks if I don’t make today the best I can.

Today I asked about names for this blog. There were some good ones. Dirt between my toes gave me the idea to just go out, take my shoes and socks off, get in the garden and take a picture. Thanks Scarlette. Sometimes we just need a reminder to rest, take it easy. See things from a new perspective.

What is the name of this blog? As of right now it remains Hen & Chicks. Why? Well, when Tom and I moved away from family to be closer to his work we left many things. We started life new. New home, new roads to travel, new stores, new friends, new church, new family. One of the first things we did was plant a few flowers. Tom’s favorite was Hen & Chicks. Yes it is a small succulent and every move I took a piece of it with us. I no longer have it and I have to admit the name has changed meanings.

One time in my life I associated it with my life as a homeschooling mom. Without the denim jumpers of course. I enjoyed being with my boys and teaching them. I enjoyed them being close to me. How that is changing! They are men. No longer needing me so much. And I really don’t want them to need me but I do want them to want me in their life. So that means I need to let them leave, kinda kick them out of the hen-house so to speak.

There was even a time Hen & Chicks defined my days as a chicken girl…farmer…hobbyist…I don’t know what I actually was. All I know is that it wasn’t all that easy or cheap. And I get that isn’t the point of raising chickens but with my young guys leaving more and more I had to look at what I was willing to enjoy as an adult without help and that ended my season as a chicken girl…farmer…hobbyist…

Today Hen & Chicks is the name I lovingly label the soaps that I make and sell. It is a part of my identity. It reflects parts of my history. Which is so coincidental that tonight I am teaching in AWANA about our identities! Last week they taught about salvation. This week I am showing them that with salvation we have a new identity. How important that is! But what a process it begins. We become an heir but we change and grow with each new day. I am thankful for that. This is the beginning of seeing what makes me...me. Who God has shaped me to be and is continuing to shape. My identity is in Him, the Creator. Everything I do or am is because of who I am becoming because of His work in me. Angela is my given name, Pookie is what my husband calls me, mom is what my children yell, I am friend to many, a sister to several but above all I am called beloved by my Lord.

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Love,
Angela