Life!

…I came so that you might have life and have it abundantly.  John 10:10
How many times have you scratched your head and wondered what you could do to be a bigger promoter of the culture of life?  It seems all too often that the value of human life is being diminished right before our very eyes.  As stories of human trafficking, abortion and euthanasia fill the news feed I want to drag out the world’s biggest soap box and rant like a maniac!  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel a little defeated in the process…but like He often does, God takes over and demonstrates His truths in a profound, simple and beautiful way! 

He sweetly whispered this morning…you demonstrate the culture of life when you allow people to witness it. That’s just what happened in first grade today!  For 21 days 40 first grade “chicken parents” have lovingly and carefully turned 36 eggs inside the incubator twice each day.  Every day they eagerly waited to hear the report about what the babies were developing.  They are stunned to know the heart forms and beats within the first few days.  They are amazed to learn that they have eyes by day 3 and tiny scales on their feet at day 14.  They can hardly believe they have ears before they have feathers and that it takes 6 days for their beaks to grow hard enough to peck out of the egg.  They are in awe that God would make sure on day 19 when there is almost no room left inside the egg they would turn so their head faced the air sac. Today was the day…the day they thought would never come.  They got to watch their babies hatch right before their very eyes and come to life.

Every year I stand with the kids around the incubator and cheer on the little ones who just need one more push to break free.  Each year I watch them hug each other and clap and cheer as each one makes its grand entrance into life.  Each year I cry as their absolute priceless reactions to new life melts my heart.  They are a gigantic mix of emotion; excitement, happiness, anticipation and pride.  Each year I learn from them.  Today I got some big lessons and as we all try to respect life I thought I’d share.

Lesson 1…Birthdays are the best day ever so we should sing Happy Birthday no matter what.

Lesson2…Beauty is in the eye of the one who loves hardest.  “Mrs. Wohlfert they looked wet and ugly in the book but when I see him for real he’s beautiful because he’s ours.”

Lesson 3…It’s ok to hug the person next to you when someone is born…even if you’re a boy and the person you just excitedly grabbed is a girl.  New life is worth an awkward or embarrassing moment.

Lesson 4…Struggles are part of the journey.  After watching one baby struggle for more than 10 hours one of the little lovelies on the edge of tears  said, “Mrs. Wohlfert  can’t you just help him a little bit, he’s struggling too hard and I just can’t watch him anymore, please can’t you help him!” Before I could reply another little lovely put an arm around his shoulder and said, “It’s ok, God’s watching and He knows sometimes we have to struggle to be strong, if someone does the work for him he won’t be strong and healthy enough to survive.” They both stopped to pray for the chick. Eventually I did help a little bit and the rejoicing over that one hatch outdid all the rest!

Lesson 5…Life is magnetic!  We had over 200 visitors today ranging in age from 6 months to 70 and each one shared the same smile and laughter.  It’s was contagious…the first graders couldn’t wait to show the grownups their babies and they studied each other’s reactions with joy.  It all left a mark!

Lesson 6…It feels great to love something more than you love yourself and it’s important to put somebody else’s needs  ahead of yours…even if it is just a chick.

We are uniquely created to respect and appreciate life, I think we just forget it sometimes and need a sweet fluffy reminder!  The little lovelies may not remember learning about long vowels or putting things in alphabetical order, but they will remember how precious life is and how 21 days during the spring can teach so many important lessons.  I suppose God was reminding me today that the best way to promote the culture of life is to dunk somebody right into the middle of it!

A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time this week praying that we become a culture with a greater respect for life. 

Blessings on your day!