Pages

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Kristin vs. the Ubiquitous Egg Incubator



I’ve had a few friends get cancer diagnoses recently (also let it be known that the longer you live, the more life tends to mess with your loved ones- be ye warned). Their struggle and mine brought to mind an experience I had a few years ago.  

I was in a Children’s museum and happened to be there on the day the chicken eggs in the incubator were hatching. I do believe it is somewhere in the bylaws of opening up a children’s museum- you MUST have an incubator full of chicken eggs at all times.

I was a new mom at the time and it completely broke my heart to see those little creatures struggling so greatly to crack through their shell. I even nervously looked around for a farmer, a doctor, some sort of egg-ologist, ANYONE who would be there to help these little fuzzy babies out of their white-walled predicaments.

I thought, couldn’t I just reach in and crack each egg and send them waddling on their way? Why are we allowing these guys to struggle this much? Shouldn’t someone be boiling some water? Bringing towels? What else do they send men to do in old movies when women are having babies?

The elderly volunteer noticed my look of panic and said, “You know, they have to go through that. If we helped them out of their shells, they would most likely die. Breaking through their shell gives it the strength it needs to survive. You have to let it struggle.”

I’ve since learned that chicks are not alone. Even the struggle a butterfly must go through when it forces itself out of its cocoon is the only way to get fluid into its new wings. Without that struggle, the butterfly dies.

Sometimes the act of struggling for animals isn’t optional. It makes them strong.

It, unfortunately, it is the same with us. The struggle makes us grow. The struggle makes us tougher. It is a refining process that can make us better humans on the other side. I try to remember this example when things get difficult, when life is unfair, when people are disappointing, when cancer decides to mess with some amazing people.

Fight on ladies. Fight on friends. Whatever is in your way, let the struggle make you even better, stronger, and of course, cooler on the other side.   

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful thoughts and reminders. thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kristen, your father is my first cousin. You and I have never met, but I've followed your story through your dad's facebook posts -- and congratulations now on expecting twins!! I'm commenting because my sweet daughter-in-law (age 32) had surgery earlier this year and just completed radiation treatments for head and neck cancer. Her prognosis is good and we are so grateful. She is a beautiful, smart, talented, loving mother of three and I'm sharing this post with her. Your story is an inspiration, thank you for sharing this beautiful lesson and perspective! -- Bonnie Barrus Adamson

    ReplyDelete