trap doors

We're studying the digestive system in Science now, and today I showed my kids a video of how food digests. When it got to the part where it shows the epiglottis, and explains how it's a flap of skin that acts as a trap door at the top of your trachea so as not to allow any food to go down your windpipe.....two of my boys, sitting on opposite sides of the room, shouted at the same time, "Man, God is sooo cool!" :-) (It was a cool diagram.)

That's the kind of response a teacher always loves. Giving Him all the glory that He deserves! When I get to teach about how our body works, and learn about it before I teach it, :-), I am in awe! Our Maker is incredible. Even the parts that we're not quite totally sure about yet, like uvulas and appendixes, and why our body does certain things....nothing is a question for our Creator. It's neat to see these 10 year olds, many who come from families who aren't believers, making statements about how cool God is. And who can disagree about the coolness of an epiglottis?? I mean, wow. Everyone thinks trap doors are cool.

Of course, it was with almost equal coolness that they understood how waste was released from our body. :) Gotta love 4th graders! And I do. I love them. Today, when Marijike gave our lunch prayer, and said, "Lord, let this food nourish our bodies," I actually prayed it. I prayed it, and didn't recite it like some days, out of habit because I'm really hungry and just want to get down there before the 5th graders. I'm always in awe how God uses sickness, and other not-so-cool things, to help us lean on him more and even reconcile us to Him.

It's ironic that I'm teaching about the digestive system now, cause for the past couple weeks, mine hasn't been digesting. :-) Honestly, it's been a bit of a scare, but at the same time, I have felt so well taken care of, and loved on. I wouldn't want to be sick any other place. My principal, a former Army medic, dressed in his leather jacket, rides his dirtbike over to check up on me and bring me meds. And my doctor is a parent of one of my students; they're from Oklahoma. He comes to my room and then carries me around in his old Landrover to the clinics, the pharmacie, even lets me stay at their house. He's the same guy who stitched up my lip on his kitchen table last year. :-) And we've been talking to great docs from SC, even Morehead Scholars, who went to Harvard! There are great minds here! So it's been a weird two weeks, and frustrating not to be at 100%, but we have finally turned a corner, and yesterday and today I ate meals with no pain, nothing! We all think now, I had some crazy parasite/worm that just needed an extra kick to leave my body. But we've kicked the infection out now, and I know it wasn't just the meds. I totally believe in His healing power and the power of prayer! Thank you for your prayers! I felt so loved...I even had friends in the States making calls to "their people" over here! That's what I call crazy love, like Francis Chan! :-)

This whole ordeal was actually a great experience to have a little fear, (I think a little fear is good for us,) but also just to slow myself down and spend time just resting and doing what God has put in front of me to do. Not all those million other things I think I need to get accomplished in 24 hours.

I realize I still take things for granted. But God still has a way of reminding me whats important. I'm back to looking at the simple things now, and celebrating them in a big way! Lord, let this food nourish our bodies. I really prayed that today! Celebrating eating food, and my body working as it's created to! It's very cool and wonderful. I am enjoying it again. I'm so thankful for friends, for community, even for an epiglottis.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 
~Psalm 139:13-14