Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, April 28, 2024
I’ve been reading the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament night after night, and a couple of nights ago, while doing so, I was suddenly reminded of the prize-winning, best-selling picture book, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.*
In this story, a father is trying to get his child to sleep. She begs for a story. He begins to read. A common occurrence, with a twist, because this is a children’s picture book and the little girl who is not at all sleepy is a chicken.
There’s another twist to the story, which explains the title – as the father reaches a crisis point in the story, his little chicken interrupts, warning the characters of the dangers involved and moving them quickly to a “happily ever after.”
She begs for another story, and the frustrated father agrees, begging her not to interrupt this time. But as this second story takes a turn for the worse, the little chicken jumps in again to avert catastrophe and ensure that all is well.
She pleads for yet another story, and her father implores her to, “Try not to get so involved!” But as she says, she can’t help it. (I won’t spoil the ending for you, in case you want to check out this book for yourself.)
She can’t help it, because she doesn’t want anybody to get hurt—she doesn’t want bad things to happen.
So why did I hear the flapping of little chicken’s wings when I was reading 1 Samuel?
I’d reached 1 Samuel 8:5, when the elders of Israel gather together and visit the prophet Samuel with this request:
They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (NIV)
I wanted to shout out, “Don’t do it! Don’t ask for a king! Samuel, don’t listen to them! You’ll all regret this!”
And I remembered my friend, the Interrupting Chicken. I wanted to follow her lead, jump into the story, warn of the dangers, change everyone’s choices, save the day, and relax into a happy ending.
Think of all the times in Scripture we would like to have been interrupters as stories unfolded — badly. Especially here:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 NIV)
If there was ever a time and a place to jump in, get involved, interrupt, it is here. But we can’t. It’s history, and we’re living in the consequences.
I believe in guardian angels that watch over us, and I wonder how tough that assignment is. How often does my angel friend want to interrupt my life and wave red flags of warning before my startled eyes?
But wait! That sounds like Someone else! That sounds like part of the Holy Spirit’s mission. Jesus, hours before His death, reassures His faltering disciples:
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit was the best gift Jesus could give us when He went back to heaven. I believe He gets involved in our lives as much as we allow Him to. Maybe I need to let Him know that He has my full permission to interrupt me as needed and guide me to the happily-ever-after I am longing for.
As we step out into this brand-new week, may all our interruptions be Spirit-led!
*Interrupting Chicken, David Ezra Stein, Candlewick Press, 2010