Eagle's Eye and Scouting

This week, I've been thinking about a good friend, Sam Tennis who is the son of a mission companion - Peter Tennis.  Sam has earned his Eagle Scout and will be having his court of honor soon so I made him this special envelope.  As I painted this noble bird, I loved doing his eye.  The depth and color I achieved in the iris surprised me and I got thinking about an eagle's vision.  An eagle can spot a small rabbit from over 3 kilometers away!  Can you imagine having that kind of vision?!

As I painted, I thought about what a powerful young man Sam is and the man he is becoming.  I started to draw an analogy in my mind between the values of scouting and the power of an Eagle's vision.  There's some really interesting lessons for the young scout when thinking about the vision of the Eagle.  There are some special eyelids that keep the eagle's eye clean and a special chemical called Isozyme.  The eagle also has a very defined brow that keeps branches and debris out of the eye.  I started to compare these features to the power of repentance and how we need to keep spirits (our most powerful sense) clean from the world.   Pretty cool lessons to learn!  Anyway, I wish I could be to Sam's Eagle Court of Honor and discuss this in person, but this special envelope will have to do.  He lives in Saudi Arabia so he feels like he's in the neighborhood, but not likely that I can attend.  Congratulations Sam!