A friend I met recently told me this story about her time in Africa. I think it’s an excellent illustration for what our attitude toward the Scriptures could aspire to. I know I’m not quite there yet but I’m discovering the value of sitting in a section of the Word and letting it soak. Ruminating, if you will.
Anyway, here’s the story. Hope you enjoy it!
AFRICAN CHICKEN
During her time in Africa, Kim had a quest of sorts: to find tender chicken. Each time her helper would go to the market, she would come home with a chicken as requested. Kim would stick it in the pressure cooker, hoping that this time the meat would be softer. But to her dismay, conversation around the dinner table would trickle into silence as each person ended up concentrating on chewing, trying desperately to break down the meat enough to swallow.
After this happened several times, Kim asked her helper to please choose a young chicken the next time she went to the market. So the helper went as asked and brought back a younger animal. And Kim, not wanting to take any chances, made sure to pressure cooker the chicken extra long. So long, in fact, that the meat fell off the bones… in strings! Strings of meat that could have been played on a violin.
Perplexed, Kim spoke to her helper, trying to understand what was happening. As they talked, she realized “poulet,” which she thought meant “chicken,” actually meant something more like poultry in general. And in that part of the world, meat was so precious that if you were going to have it, it better last you a good long time in your mouth! A good piece of chicken should give you plenty of chew time so you could fully savour the flavour. A good piece of chicken, as it turned out, was a good piece of rooster!
~Psalm 34:8~