Lessons Learned - Chicken Money

My boys are determined to raise money to buy chickens. My husband built a coop for them and we have some friends that have chickens who have offered us eggs and their incubator. So, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to teach the boys about free enterprise! They are doing chores to raise money to buy the eggs and use the incubator to hatch them, and then will raise the chickens and sell the eggs. It will be their responsibility to take care of them, buy feed, etc., and they will be able to sell their eggs (it helps that Mimi and Granpa run a year round retreat center always in need of eggs!).

I learned a lot from one of my boys yesterday. Yesterday we made a list of chores and the amount of money each chore was worth. The oldest boy was gung ho about it! He wanted to raise all they money he needed to buy the chicken eggs yesterday, all of it! So he ran around, paranoid his younger brother would get to do a chore that would leave him out of chores and therefore short of money. Regardless of how many times I told him we could come up with more chores if they did all of those, he was in tears at times scared he wouldn't make enough. He was so concerned he tried to withhold chores from the younger one (who was uninterested anyways! That's another issue in itself! haha). He held so tightly to what he thought he needed to do to make money and didn't want to share, even though he said if he raised the money he would buy all the chickens for he and his younger brother. In his resolve to make sure he took care of it, he was panicked that he wouldn't make enough money or have the opportunity to make enough money to get the eggs.

I was thinking about this and how it relates to me and my relationship with God. If you knew me, you would probably know that I am pretty tight with money and get pretty panicky myself over it. My son was representing how God must see me sometimes. See, he has parents who want him to get chickens, who have plenty resources to get him the chickens, who would love to watch him be happy over them, who think they are good for him, and support him in that. Why he can't see hints of that when we built the coop for him anyways, I don't know! The chores were just a learning exercise. Not to mention, our friends would give them the eggs and let them use the incubator for free! We just want them to have fun learning how to manage money and have a fun way to gain some responsibility...because as parents we see the big picture and know this can be for their good!

How silly I must look to God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, when I worry He may not supply me with enough resources. He works for my good, He loves me, He has everything I could ever need. If I will trust Him and realize His vast resources, how much more peaceful and enjoyable life would be!

I was so blown away watching my son be paranoid for no reason, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't listen to me when I was telling him I had what he needed and he would get what he needed. Sounds so familiar!!

Philippians 4:19

King James Version (KJV)

19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.