Good Gifts

What a beautiful world I have the privilege to live in! Despite all the problems, the ugliness, the pain and the challenges our world faces, there is such beauty if we look carefully. There is beauty in nature - blue skies, delicate clouds, spectacular sunsets - an array of amazing creatures that lift my spirits! When I mowed my yard this week, I saw a snake, a squirrel, numerous beautiful birds, insects of all varieties, including a katydid. All around me there is such beauty - gifts for the delight of my soul and spirit!

There is amazing beauty in people. Every shape and size and color - they are so remarkable. They go about their lives with such unique ways of doing things - even when they look odd they are interesting to me. Children laugh - they cry - they squeal with delight and it is all so beautiful in its time and place. An older couple walking together hand in hand - a picture of time tested love - this makes my heart rise!

There is such beauty in the arts - music, writing, films, plays, paintings and so much more! People using these amazing gifts from God to make the world a more delightful and thought provoking place to live - good gifts from our God.

There is great beauty in the service offered to those in need by willing servants. Feeding those less fortunate, helping someone find a job, taking someone to the Doctor, checking on an elderly neighbor, being a friend to someone who is hurting -- beautiful gifts given to others.

As I think about this I realize that there are really two ways to live: one to bring ugliness and pain into this world or to bring beauty - to be a blessing. I want to always to do the latter.

"Everything is beautiful in its time" says the wisdom writer of Ecclesiastes.

What will you offer to our world? Something beautiful, I hope. Begin today.

Just thinking, Steve