It Makes Sense To Give Thanks

I grasp my warm cup of coffee. It’s bold flavor dances on my tongue. The smell is a delight to my nose. What a great gift we have in our senses. It points me to our Creator. It reminds me of His greatness. The gift of our senses and with it I begin to give thanks. Have I ever given God thanks for this? Have I ever prayed this way?

Lord,

With gratitude, I can see the rising of the sun and it’s setting. It’s colors triumph boldly across the west Texas sky. I see a horse loping across the pasture as a rider raises his hand to let me know he sees me in the gather. A coyote darting across the road in his sly escape. Just think for a moment about all God allows us to see. A tear falling off the check of a friend. A smile on a child’s face. A wink from my husband.

Thank you Lord for the touch of my husband’s warm hand that reaches for mine. Sometimes I forget about the sheer beauty of this simple gesture. How many people do we hug in a day? It’s usually reserved for those we know, those we trust. We don’t just hand those out to strangers unless we feel the need. Perhaps we feel prompted to someone in need, someone who has loss, someone who has struggled. Then I remember my own struggles and the hugs of strangers that meant the world to me.

Lord, how delightful to hear the sound of music, the fiddle, the steel guitar. To hear couples laughing together as they dance. The sound of their boots sliding on the floor. The sound of fireworks on the 4th of July and the sound of “dinners ready!” at Thanksgiving. How we take advantage of our every day senses.

And now I am overwhelmed to take it all in. My memory pops off like New Year’s fireworks, as I am reminded of when we first saw our grandson and the feel of his tiny hand wrapped around my finger. His warm blanket tightly bundled in my arms. The look on his parent’s faces, as they experience this indescribable gift of life.

Lord, I remember hearing a new sense of excitement in the voice of our oldest son. As he begins to understand his purpose and that it’s been there all along. It is purpose in the everyday and in the lives of those he shares it with. His voice sounds even more grown to me as he expresses his excitement for his future. I’m so thankful you have a plan for each of us and thankful to hear it in his voice.

I could sit here all day and that’s exactly what I want to do, as I am wrapped up in your presence and remember this greatest feeling of all. You Lord! The feeling of freedom. Nothing comes close to this and I feel my senses overwhelmed by the freedom to worship you and call you Lord, in our Country. It’s the reason for that first Thanksgiving. It’s that reason for the bounty You provided. And for this Lord, I am grateful.

Amen.

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!”  Psalm 34:8