A young girl, who was responsible for taking care of chickens, frequently peeks into the nests to see if the new chicks had arrived.

One day, she saw many downy, yellow chicks huddled under a mother hen, but there were two eggs not yet fully hatched. She could see the little bodies pulsing and struggling for freedom through the tiny holes pecked out from the shells. Impulsively, she decided to help, and took one of the eggs, gently pulled it open and peeled away the shell to free the chick.

The next moment is frozen in her mind. As she finished the job, the baby chick gasped, struggled and stopped breathing. Sensing something dreadful had gone wrong, she ran for her mother. Her mother's experienced eyes immediately read the story. She could have scolded or punished the girl, but she chose to teach her. The mother's caring words explained that each chick has to struggle to free itself. Through its own struggles, it became strong enough to live outside the shell.

Understanding the little girl's intention and lack of knowledge, she said, "There are some things in life that other people just cannot do for you; you have to do them for yourself."

Now older and a mother herself, the former little girl with good intentions often recalled that event. "Often as I have longed to fix things for other persons," she says, "I remember that they just might have to do this for themselves, and I must allow them to struggle."

- by Dr. Myrle Swicegood