What Everybody Needs

Yesterday morning when I fed my chickens I noticed a couple of things right away. First, all of them were out in their yard. It was about 6:00 and still dark. Usually that early in the morning only the three I have come to think of as the tough outdoorsy girls are up and around. They seem to just like being outside. But the second thing I noticed was even more striking. As I put out their food, the chickens pretty much ignored it. Usually they jump on those Nature’s Best Scratch Feed Pellets faster than, well, than a chicken on a June bug. All they were doing this day was milling around my feet unsatisfied.

That’s when I noticed that they were out of water. And actually, the chicken watering can was quite full, but it was also frozen solid. I guess the only thing that will distract a hen from her hunger is her thirst.

Finally, winter has officially arrived on the farm. We have entered the season of frozen hoses and water hauling. So yesterday morning I went back up to the house and got a jug of water, and when I re-entered the pen, the chickens, sensing I finally had what they wanted, flocked around me (literally in this case). When I saw the sheep leave their hay and come to peer longingly through the chicken wire, I knew I would have to bring them some water too. The complication, of course, is that all the hoses were frozen too so I couldn’t just turn on the faucet. More hauling.

When I was a little girl growing up in a Southern California suburb and dreaming of a farm, my dreams never even considered winter watering in a place where hoses freeze. In fact, I never really understood all the work involved in farming at all. I just imagined myself and my animals living contentedly in a beautiful place.

But everybody needs water.

All of that leads me to a reflection on Governor Christine Gregoire’s announcement last week of her support of marriage equality. I know. Only a preacher can go from a chicken coop to gay rights in one breath. But here is the connection I see.

When I was a little girl growing up in a Southern California suburb and dreaming of my future, my dreams never even imagined a day when my love could be open, and supported and celebrated. But now I know it is possible. And I know there is a lot of water to haul for us to get there. Some have already done a tremendous amount of the hauling, even when everything around us seemed frozen. I have had some good supportive drinks from such folks, at times when my life was very dry and very cold.

And now here we are in a season of spring in the midst of winter, when some things are beginning to thaw, and hope is blooming. Gregoire said of her decision to come out publicly in support of marriage equality, “It’s time, it’s the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it.” Then she said of her own long journey to that moment, “I tell you, I’ve never felt better than I do today.”

Thank you, Governor Gregoire, for helping to haul this water. Because this is something, whether we know it or not, and whether we can imagine it or not, that everybody needs.

Advertisement