Mechanical Advantage

Somewhere along the line, the Lord made the decision to give human beings opposable thumbs. This innovation to manual anatomy allows humans to grasp things with a circular grip (as when you make the letter "O" in sign language). Without the ability to grasp in such a way, tools as we know them (like sewing machines, chainsaws, and fountain pens) would only be works of art, employable only by some alien race. (Can you imagine a cow trying to operate a sewing maching with its hooves?) In fact, the opposable thumb has long been counted one of the primary features that make our species so gifted and powerful among the creatures.

Some other animals do have opposable thumbs, however; humans are not unique in this way. Most apes and monkeys have opposable thumbs--sometimes on both hands and feet. Pandas, koalas, and a whole phylum of tree frogs in South America have opposable digits on hands or feet. Hence the ability of pandas to eat bamboo like lollipops, koala's ability to sit on the side of a tree trunk for long periods, and tree frogs' ability to . . . well, do tree-froggy things.

Opossums also have opposable thumbs--but only on their rear paws. (Thank God! If they had opposable thumbs on their hands and reproduced the way they do, they'd rule the world.)

The proper use of an opposable thumb does not come immediately to humans. Discovering the power and ability of this thickened, strong digit takes time and practice. So when Gwendolyn Hope emerged into the bright world with us, her thumbs lay limply next to her forefingers, awaiting patiently the time when she would get around to exercising them.

Friday of last week, as I held Gwendolyn on my thighs, I put my huge forefingers under her tiny digits. She wrapped her thumbs under my fingers and pulled. Here is the God-given wonder of human anatomy at work in my daughter. Of course, that little quirk of design did not explain the full impression of the moment on my heart. Something more awe-filling struck me then--something more spiritual than biological--about the fact that my daughter had grasped me for the first time. She could hold on as I pulled my hands away from her then back toward her again. She has mounted the learning curve of grasping, holding, and embracing that will make her more human than any anatomical mechanical advantage can. She will be a child who can hold her parent's hand; a girl who can hold a doll or ball; a woman who can embrace a lover's soul; and perhaps a parent who can cradle her infant's head. Praise the Lord, who knitted her together in her mother's womb.

This also means that she can be a rower. Hallelujah!

~emrys