Friday, September 6, 2024

Dear God,

Following my devotions this morning, I gazed out the window into the long yard and woods behind our home.  As I looked at the shagbark hickory tree, I whispered, "Gift, gift, gift, you are a gift."  I let my eyes roam to the woods, the flowers and the birds and I said the same, "Gift, gift, you are all gifts."  I closed my eyes and thought of the interior of our 200-year-old home.  I thought of our small, upstairs bedroom with three windows, another gift, the narrow back room with eight windows and the hermitage, our sacred space and I murmured again and again, "Gift, gift, gift, you are all gifts."

I felt so blessed when I realized everything around me was a gift.  But then I came to the awareness that the best gift of all was your daily, living presence.  To know I was living in your constant midst, my eyes grew moist when I acknowledged that all of life is truly gift.

Thank you,

Holy God,

for all

the gifts

of life.

Thank you

for the opportunity

to dwell

with you

every day.

Thank you

for the

precious realizations today.

Yours, Andrea