It was eight o’clock at night. I had been watching and waiting for a long time with great expectation and a sense of awe of the entire process. It all started when I looked into the observation window and saw one of the eggs begin to move back and forth. What in the world? How was that egg moving like that? The incubator was sitting level, yet the egg moved. Soon another egg began to roll, almost as if it was turning itself over.
As I continued to watch, I saw a little hole appear in one of the eggs and then another. Within minutes, those jagged holes became longer and longer. Soon I could hear little chirps coming from within the eggs. By this point, I had pulled up a stool not to miss a minute of this wonder. The process of the first chick took just a matter of an hour or so. As the baby chick continued to peck, push and struggle, it finally freed itself of its shell. Wet, weak and wobbly, like a newborn calf, it flipped, stumbled and fell around until it finally dried out and gained the strength to stand and walk around.
I ran to tell Lisa “The first one has hatched. It’s a black one.” Every hour or so, I would shout around the corner into to the den to tell her what the next one looked like.
It was the 21st day of incubation—just the day the gestation period should be complete. Right on time, they began to start the piping process where they pecked themselves out of their shells. The first twenty six chicks hatched out without any problems and they are still alive today.
One of the last remaining chicks had worked all day and all night, having made no progress except for just a small hole through which it extended its beak to breath. I could hear it chirping, but it could not free itself. I concluded that if I didn’t help the little chick, it would die—so I did. I slowly picked away at the shell until I got it free, just then I saw a little blood flow from the chick.
Afterward, doing some research on the internet, I discovered that the last chick couldn’t’ hatch because the humidity in the incubator got too low and the chick was sticking to the membrane of the shell. I also learned that the egg’s yolk is what feeds the chick until it is ready to hatch. If the chick is pulled from the shell before the yolk is fully absorbed, it will tear the umbilical cord and it will bleed (as did the chick I assisted) and the chick will usually die.
There is so much more involved in this process that is very interesting, but I have to get to the point of the story. As I watched this miraculous process during the night, and as I made it a point to tell Lisa each time one was hatched, I was reminded that each step of this very delicate, complicated and orchestrated process would have taken place without my being there to watch it. Little miracles were taking place in our kitchen and Lisa in the next room didn’t even know it was happening.
The poultry business is the largest agricultural enterprise in our area. In fact, we live just ¼ mile from a large hatchery and processing plant. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of these chicks are born every year, every minute of the day, within shouting distance of our home, yet that thought never crosses my mind.
I was reminded of the fact the God knows and is aware and in control of every little detail in His creation, even the hatching of a baby chick. He knows and cares about every aspect of our lives! Though mankind has invented, discovered, constructed, and modified a lot of creation, because we are ourselves ‘creatures’, we have not and cannot ‘create’ anything out of nothing. Only God, THE Creator, has that power.
We artificially inseminate cattle, we manipulate the hormones of cattle to make them super-ovulate so we can inseminate, extract and re-implant multiple living embryos into surrogate recipient mothers, but we cannot create the egg, the sperm or even one individual cell of a living being of any kind! We cannot ‘create’ life!
I watch the hatching of a egg, the birth of a calf, the birth of a child—I’ve even observed the conception process under a microscope and the beating heart of an embryo that is only a few days old, and I stand in absolute awe of the power, love, presence, concern and knowledge of my God. He knows, He cares and He has the power to influence and see us through whatever we face in life. Nothing escapes His notice!
He is the creator and sustainer of all things, yet he knows the smallest intricate details of all of our lives and all of His creation. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”(Mat 10:29-31). “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”. (Mat 6:8). “God knows your hearts”. (LK 16:15). “From one man he made every nation of men… and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26). “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11). "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (Jn 10:14). “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said…,” (MT 9:4).
God the Father created you. He knows every detail of your life. He loves and cares for you. He has a good plan for your life. “God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb 13:5).
Take the time to look around for the miracles God is doing in your life, your body, and your world. Experience His peace, knowing that God knows, cares and has authority over every detail!