Have you ever heard someone say, “That was as easy as duck soup!” Where did that saying come from? It is attributed to one of the tens of thousands of gold prospectors who invaded Alaska (a district of the United States, not yet a territory) during the Klondike gold rush of 1896-1899. Alaska was (and still is) a wild and often inhospitable place to live. The gold seekers had to adapt to the food and lodging habits of the local natives. One such native custom was to shoot a duck at every opportunity and make soup out of it.
Search the web for “Traditionalanimalfoods.org” to understand that different Native American tribes in Alaska have different recipes for how to make duck soup. It could be that the Gold Rushers didn’t realize it, or it could be that it’s easier to say Duck Soup than it is to distinguish between “Duck Soup Coast Salish” or “Duck Soup a la Mistissini Cree.” The Inuit “liked thick duck soup. The insides, head, and feet of the duck were used to thicken the broth.” Hmm!
The gold seekers who came to Alaska came from all walks of life and not all of them were Americans. In the late 1800s, many people lived in cities and had forgotten the ways of their tribal ancestors. The practicality, the tradition and the techniques on how to acquire and prepare wild foods are reference points that the natives use to survive. The Gold Rushers literally penetrated deep into the interior of Alaska, generally following rivers to their sources, and if they failed to find food or shelter, bears, wolves, and other wildlife would not miss an opportunity to make duck soup out of them.
The natives remembered the oft-told stories and had first-hand experience of seeing their loved ones starve, succumb to cold, or get lost in the wild while trying to provide for their family. They knew their traditions, who they had been and who they were as a people. Admire them for their tenacity. Don’t criticize them for making soup with duck entrails. Web search Jeremiah 29:11.
God has a plan for you. Probably looking for gold in dangerous places and eating duck soup on the way are not landmarks in his plan. So how do you find out what his plan is? Will you make it a family tradition to follow that plan? It begins when you pray to God. Ask him. Conclude your prayer with “in the name of Jesus,” and you will surely have grace in his life.