On February 14th, 1993, a pressure cooker exploded in my face. I was 16 years old and in high school. Devastated, I cried day and night. I did not want to be left with a discoloured face. I don’t even remember praying; maybe I did. At that time I was not walking with Christ, but somehow I gathered my courage.

The doctor ordered me to stay at home until I had healed, but it was a crucial time in my education and I could not afford to miss a day of school. We were working on our SBAs (School Based Assessments) in preparation for our Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Exams. I walked to school on those hot days with an umbrella to shelter me, but I could feel the burns on my face festering and filling up with water (blisters). The other students would just stare at me as the sight was quite unattractive, especially for a teenager who was already facing other challenges. There was nothing sweet about this sixteen.

In Biology class I became an illustration as the teacher pointed out to my classmates the wonderful work of the eyelids—that although I got burnt in the face, my eyes were not damaged. The eyelids were only scourged. The eyelids reflexively blink to form a mechanical barrier that protects the eye from foreign objects (Merck Manuals). They are responsible for protecting the eyes against foreign elements or other stimuli that can damage them, and we blink approximately every 5 seconds (Maria F. de la Paz, ophthalmologist).

Looking at me today, no one would know that my face was once covered with patches of white. There was healing and restoration of my skin color and now I know it was by the grace and mercy of God. If I had not blinked I would be blind. The outside was scourged but the inside remained safe.

Thank You, Lord, for the reflexes of the eyelids, another wonder of your wonderful works.

Life’s lessons are taught by every circumstance, but He watches over us and protects us even when we fail Him. Now I know that all this was possible even when I was not walking with Him because He first loved me (1 John 4:19).

The eyelids blinking is our daily reminder that our eyes are protected. Having the love of Christ is our daily reminder that we are protected against any evil that forms against us. That although physical or emotional pain may be present, He will guard our heart and mind. He is the protector of our spirit and soul. He bore on His back the scourging to protect us.

I pray that the Almighty Father, our protector and shield, will work on both our inside and outside, and that the muscles of our heart will have the reflex as efficient as the eyelids to shut out the things that would make us falter.

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