The Power of Eyelids

Last week, Jeff cut down a large maple tree that was outside our kitchen window. It was a beautiful tree; but, although the shade was nice in the summertime, making that area of the backyard pleasantly cool (especially for little boys playing in the sandbox), there were disadvantages of having a tree that large in that spot:

1. it was so shady that the natural light to the kitchen was blocked; and when the leaves were fully on the tree, I had to always have the kitchen light on when I was in that room...it could be noon on the brightest summer day, but I would still have to turn the light on, and I didn't like that

2. the leaves from that tree clogged our gutter, contributing to a recurring problem we have of water coming into our laundry room whenever we have a heavy rainfall

3. the tree hung over the clothesline, potentially dropping plant matter (or worse, bird poop) on clean laundry hung out to dry

4. the shade made it difficult to grow nice, full, lush grass in that area of the backyard

5. it blocked my view of the sky...not only do I like the light coming down from the sky, but I also like to look up and see what's going on up there...are there clouds gathering? how blue is the sky? any birds flying by? how does the sky feel?

6. it was right in the middle of the path between the house and the garden shed, making an obstacle for mowing around (not that we mow our own grass...we don't...we're fortunate enough to trade haircuts for a mowing service which is wonderful!)

7. I'm not entirely convinced that the fact that our cistern no longer holds water isn't somehow related to the roots of that tree

In any case, it was time for the tree to come down, having lived out a pleasing life cycle and now ready to provide firewood for us. So Jeff cut it down, a fact which amazes me. How do you cut down a tree that big, and not accidentally kill yourself in the process or cause it to fall off-course and land on your house and make a big hole in it? I don't know, but he does, and I am certainly grateful for that!

After the tree came down, there were many, many, MANY little sticks lying around on the ground. There still are, and I think we'll be picking up sticks from that area all summer long. One day David was helping me gather some, and he picked up one that was too long to fit well in our stove. It wasn't very thick so he put a hand on each end and started to bend it to snap it. Well, snap it did; but unfortunately a piece flew up and--quicker than anything--headed straight for his eye.

This is where the beauty of God's design comes in. See that scratch on his right eyelid?

If not for eyelids, that scratch would have been on his eyeball. How painful and potentially dangerous would that have been!

I marvel at the way his eye sensed that something was flying toward it and instantly sent a message to his brain which in turn sent a message to his eyelid to close. Before we were even aware of the danger, his body had dealt with it; and I was left doing nothing but standing in awe of the way God engineered us and saying, "Thank You for the power of eyelids!"