(UPDATE May 2012: I do a skit in my talks now. And guess what? My dream came true. I’m a chicken covered in feathers for all to us. And, yes, I do my own version of the chicken dance. Isn’t God funny?)
There’s a story behind me taking pictures of Chicken. When I tell friends this story, they laugh. So get ready to see more than a chicken wing mascot on a street corner. Get ready to see me. And just maybe if God would have it, get ready to see you.
There’s something that comes alive in me every time I see this silly bird. One day I even teared up looking at yellow chicken man. Strange I know. This bird soars on the corner for all to see. And chickens don’t even fly. But this bird, covered from head to ankle, seems to soar free! Whoever is under this yellow fur suit is having too much fun. Nothing stops Chicken from freedom of expression. Chicken moves, hips shaking, pretending to play a guitar, waving, and dancing. Chicken doesn’t seem to care what passersby think. Actually Chicken has a way of capturing grumpy 5 o’clock rush hour traffic by frowns turning upside down.
Watching Chicken makes me want to pull over and say, “Can I try?”
You see I’m a chicken in many ways, but I am not free! I dream of the day I can wear a chicken suit and stand on a corner and be completely free. Funny I know. Go ahead and laugh I understand. I laugh too. I wonder if I would actually dance or if I would still worry about what people think.
Consider this: Two people advertising on a corner, one in costume, one just holding a sign. Why does the person out of costume holding a sign, stand still, without expression? Why does someone masked bring creativity and joy?
Could it be because one is seen and one is hidden?
All this gets me thinking of my Chicken longing? Why does this free bird hurt and tug on my heart?
I believe it’s because I ache to be completely free and start fully expressing the joy inside me. Living out Christ to the full for all to see. I’m not there yet. I know because I feel His Life bubbling up inside me. I have for years now. Sometimes depending on where I’m at, I push Him down in order to be seen as calm, cool and collected. I don’t want to be too free and seen as a bird brain. I don’t want attention. But I do want the world to see the God I love. I can’t stand living shut up any longer. I have to let God out! Sharing is a huge joy and release! It’s time.
I dream of the day when I don’t care about the opinions of others in my world. I dream of total freedom. And more than that, I dream of complete coverage. Hiddenness. Covered from head to toe like Chicken. Unseen but full of life! I want all onlookers to see what is covering me. Christ! But out of fear that they won’t see Him and worrying they will get stuck looking at me, I remain still, without expression.
Oh how many years I’ve grieved God. Tried to tame Him. Attempted to quiet His joy, silencing His hope and love. For what? To look good. How sad!!
Please forgive me, Lord for caring more about what others think than You. You know I’m a chicken. Thank you for continuing to speak over this area of my life for years. Slowly and carefully, You’ve unwrapped me and uncovered the deepest root in my heart. People pleasing. It’s dying. I feel it. And oh how great it is to feel free. Freedom and joy have filled my heart as I’ve started sharing the treasures You’ve given me. Especially through the Stop, Look and Listen posts. You know I see You through everywhere I look and listen. Lord, you know me intimately and You’ve never left me. I might see life through a different lens and even so You accept me. Always. Thank you healing much of my past. You are always there to comfort me. I was once blind, but now I see.
(Flashback – rabbit trail – or chicken tracks here) I’ve had 7 plus years worth of moments with God that I’ve hidden. I hidden the best moments. For good reason, but not good enough. God is telling me it’s time to be free and share Him with others no matter what they might think. No more hiding. As I’ve sought His counsel in many ways, He continues to say:
“I know you want to hide. But when you hide, you hide Me!”
Is it possible that if I share His truths inside of me through written and spoken words that others will SEE GOD and not me? Is that true? If so, what am I waiting for? I’m hiding the greatest gift I know. All for what again? I’m hiding most amazing love I know. I’m hiding the incredible God who’s captivated me day after day, night after night. This hiding can’t remain another day! I must share. This is why I’ve been created. This much I know.
Father God, hide me. Completely clothe and cover me in your wings so that when I share people SEE You! Not me. Hide me in a yellow chicken suit if that’s what it takes. Or better yet like a dear friend told me, hide me in an eagle suit. I’ll gladly start as a eagle egg or an eaglet, I don’t care, at least eagles eventually fly–and fly high they do. I’m tired of being grounded. Let’s go places together. I’m ready to soar to new heights with You!
(For more on chicken, here’s a video I captured.)
I’m with you, Tiffany… I want to laugh and dance and not worry about what others think or say or do! I just want to be joyful in the Lord.
Melanie, maybe we can get two chicken suits and dance together!
What a great analogy. So many live their lives in bondage. But I see you breaking free. A woman in bondage would not be able to do the Cardboard testimony or be so transparent in her writing. Remember: we are all a work in progress. Love you!
Some great insights in this post. We want people to see God and not us…but finding that balance…it is a growing process. There are steps and things to learn along the way. God knows that there is purpose in our moments when the joy seems to hide. Work is being done. But I too often feel I fail to show forth His love and joy that resides in me as I should. But if I look back I see progress…I see where He and not me has enabled me to be free of what others might think. WeE must show forth HIS love to others and we must not let the enemy rob of our joy in the midst of life’s trials! Oooh! Girl! You got me a thinking! Great stuff!
I loved this entry as it speaks the desire of my heart as well. How I wish to be so free in my walk with the Lord that I only think about being me for Him and what will honor and glorify Him in my day-to-day living for Him. You have wonderful challenging thoughts here. Thank you again. Just love your posts.
Wow, Tiffany, I can sure relate to this. I SO want the freedom to be ALL that God wants me to be–and to not care what anyone thinks. And girl, I don't want it to be in a chicken suit, I want to be free to be me, clothed by God.
Hugs & Prayers.
Amen Tiffany,
The Lord does display His splendor through you. You are candid and His beauty shines through. He is so amazing when he takes our offerings, no matter how small, and makes beautiful glorious things out of them!
Keep shining, sister! The battle never ends this side of heaven. We always have our old nature to contend with.
The important thing is not to lay down our sword!
Total freedom is guaranteed at the wedding banquet! The mixture (humanity mixed with divinity) here (on earth) is for the praise of His glorious grace! No one could really relate with total freedom. We would be pedistilized at the very least.
I will pray for your boldness, will you please pray for mine? I am speaking to the youth girls again tonight about sexual purity…Thanks friend!
This was an awesome post dear. I am asking God to pour boldness all over your life. I love you my friend.
Wow! All of what you said is what God has taken me through in the last few months.
First, God hid me under His wings to teach me His ways. Then, like the mother eagle [in scripture] she pushes her young out of the nest when it’s time to fly – only to catch them on her own pinions [tips of her wings] if they fall.
I flew for awhile and began getting too comfortable up high.
God has just brought me back down –
BACK TO THE THRONE = Kneeling in Prayer.
Sometimes in our learing process with Him – we take 2 steps forward and 1 step back – then get up again and the cycle continues until we get to heaven!
And yes, everything is about HIM – and not people seeing, hearing or reading [us]. If they are not seeing Jesus – then we aren’t doing our job.
God is good! God is faithful in all His Ways. What a marvelous post to ponder!
Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[Kneeling in Prayer]
Amen to that… a wonderful post that I can relate too in so many ways. Why are we so concerned with what others think? I too want to be more free…
And on a totally different note… our church is doing the cardboard testimonies this Sunday and I am participating… I am so excited to see what God does in our church through these testimonies!
Blessings!
Just so you know…when I see you I see Him!
I love these words you are sharing. I love your “Stop, Look and Listen”… Your heart is beautiful.
Love ya,
I spent half my day dressed as a clown for one of my preschool classes…it’s true that you feel much freer to express your real self (or goofy self!) when you are hidden.
I at times feel like two different people…my Christian self when I’m with like-minded friends and then my hidden self when I’m with non-Christian friends and my extended family. I think the latter sense that I’m a Christian, but I’ve never discussed it with any of them or shared my testimony. I am the only Christian among my parents and sisters and their families. I so want to share with them but don’t want to be ridiculed for who I really am. My one sister is a Buddhist, and I would really like to talk to her about God and Christianity. Unfortunately, she’s the one I fear talking with the most! It’s funny though, she doesn’t hide the fact that she’s a Buddhist or that she has a meditation room in her house.
Like you and many others, I need the courage to be free about God!
Thank you for visiting my blog earlier today!
Oh Tiffany, you do reflect Him. I love your words. You make me smile. I see your Chicken Dreams but His plans for you are above that : ) He is going to raise you up on Eagle’s wings. It doesn’t take a lot of flapping to soar! B
Tiffany,
I LOVED this post! I was thinking the same thing as you made the illustration with the chicken. It’s hard to put yourself out there. Some people aren’t always nice. Some seem to be out to get us.. but then there’s GOD. I’ve been heavily convicted with this verse..
John 12:43
for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Ouch. That one really cuts me! I’m SO VERY PROUD of YOU for putting your heart on the line over and over again. I stepped out and took a stand and the minute I was “bitten” I drew back into myself. I TRULY want to be a GOD PLEASER and not worry so much about “men”.
Keep on sharing JESUS and what HE’S done for you, Sweet Sister! I KNOW HE’S SOOOOO PROUD of YOU!
Love You!
I enjoyed this post. I love your insights. We hide our true selves sometimes. God wants us to be free in him.
Yay!
When I first started reading this, I could not imagine how anyone would want to take pictures of someone in a chicken suit.
After I finished, I wanted to be that someone in a chicken suit. Really, really bad.
And though I’ve only been around here for a short while, I can see how God is working through you. And though I’m not sure what His plans for you are, I know they are more than you could dream.
Oh Tiffany!
I LOVE THIS.
Melanie@Bella~Mella
This is right where I am. And my daughter too. I forwarded your blog post to her and she loved it too —this is big! “But when you hide, you hide me.” Doesn’t get any clearer than that. Gloria
http://gloriarose.wordpress.com
Lord Jesus, I lift up all those who are hiding and pushing you down. I pray Father God that they will let You shine through them. Thank You for shining through me and now I see Tiffany is starting to also allow you to shine through her. I pray in thanksgiving for Your true freedom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I am so with you on this one! I am a big chicken, too. I want to love God with the same passion on the outside I feel on the inside. There are certain times and certain circumstances that bring me out of my self, but most of the time I stay reserved and collected.
This makes me think of the Chris Tomlin song, The Way I Was Made:
I want to live like there’s no tomorrow,
I want to dance like no one’s around,
I want to sing like nobody’s listening,
Before I lay my body down.
Praying for bravery,
Kelli
Just getting back from Texas and putting my in-laws into assisted living. LONG story and we are grateful to God to still have them with us.
I loved your post and it is so good to be home and catching up. I think perhaps the scripture that says, we are to be in season and out of season as we share the Lord, helped me. You see, I struggle with people pleasing too sometimes and when I do that I am not pleasing the most important best friend in my life!
We have to let ourselves be in God and enjoy life….it is too short. A good lesson that I still work hard on is that I can’t worry about who I might offend because in Jesus, we will offend at times, it is a given because each person has their own backgrounds and life that they deal with and use that for their interpretation of things and people around them. Only when they line it up against the Word do they see true fruit in others and themselves. And…some are drinking milk and others are eating meat. The Word tells us that Jesus was very offensive to some people and that he smelled of death. To others, he was perfume. That being said I am much more able to let myself be me and not worry so much what others think. As long as we are pleasing the Lord my friends, we will have the joy of knowing we have done our best.
I long for the day when I will hear, “Well done, precious daughter.”
Good writing precious Tiffany!
Grrr, I hate it when your writing makes me think!!! Just kidding Tiffany it was wonderfully thought provoking as you can see by all the comments. I love you, enjoy being free and the snow this morning.
Love,
Paulette Harris
I saw a preview of some kind of Disney type movie with a chicken costume person in it. A pretty girl stands up and yells, “I love you Chicken!” Thought of you Tiffany….B
Thank you for pointing me to your blog. I think the chicken suit analogy is telling. Much like hiding behind the screen of a computer, one can feel a surge of bravery to say things they might not be willing to be so bold about in the non-virtual world. One of the things I’ve tried to do consistently through my blog is to be the same person online than I am in real life – warts and all. I believe God’s light shines brightest through the broken vessels. It can be gut wrenchingly embarrassing at times, and I don’t share my junk for the sake of sharing it – only as a means to encourage others and to let them know that we are all so very imperfect.
I loved your prayers – so honest. Thanks again! You are an excellent writer.