It was a bad season for goslings. Our geese laid eggs during March and April but, although several sat on the eggs, most proved to be infertile.
We salvaged a few and put them in the incubator. Again several were infertile and had to be discarded, but one came close to hatching and we placed it under a broody goose. Alas, it was found dead a day after hatching.
The remaining two fertile eggs we kept in the incubator and they hatched safely. Now these two goslings spend their nights in our house and their days in a warm place where they can pluck blades of grass.
They are growing rapidly and will soon be able to withstand the cold weather and grow to adulthood. Then we shall have a real problem.
Geese have very strong family bonds and will chase away any intruder. These two geese face a life of rejection where every beak will be turned against them and they will be pursued with loud squawks if they venture close to others.
They will never know the support of a protective family.
Many of us know the warmth and support of a loving family, while many others are caught up in the stress of divorce or rejection.
There is one family where we will always be welcome. Of Jesus it is said: “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to be children of God.” John 1:12. This represents a new life, available to all who will claim it.
“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.” Romans 8:14,15.
That word “abba” is like our word “daddy”, which gives us a picture of just how much the Almighty loves his children.
Read on in the letter to the Romans and you will see that we are not only children but heirs in this new family; heirs with confidence in an eternal future with our Daddy.
