Today’s a gift–that’s why it’s called the present
Ecclesiastes 3:13 . . .and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:5 . . .even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (GRACE, WHAT AN AWESOME GIFT THAT IS! My thought and highlight)
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
I am blessed to live in eastern NC, and have family and friends who will be concerned every time they hear there’s a possibility of a hurricane heading this way. I have lived here for very close to 22 years, and in all honesty, have only experienced one severe hurricane in 2018. I feel abundantly blessed God placed me in this area.
We were stationed in Germany—and again I was very blessed with each location. It is an awesome, pretty, majestic, and historic country. Of course not perfect, no place is perfect, like no person or animal is perfect. All have quirks, flaws, and things that annoy others. But I can certainly claim far more good than bad to every place I have been blessed to be planted for a few years.
Anyway, in the late 1990’s, my husband’s mother was having frequent bouts of pneumonia, cardiac issues and so forth, and I felt we were too far away to get to her quickly. I thought perhaps we should look for an assignment closer to her. It took awhile, but my husband was offered a position not with the Army, which he had been with for 27 years, but with the Marine Corps. Welcome to Cherry Point.
I had a cousin who was retiring from the Marine Corps also living in the area. Another blessing as we were able to borrow sheets, silverware, dishes and pots and pans. We purchased a beautiful home, and arriving in January were very pleasantly surprised to have moderate temperatures—certainly compared to Massachusetts and we were just leaving Garmisch, Germany, where there was over six feet of snow, and the snow had been coming down slowly, but daily for six weeks.
For the past several decades, I have been able to claim that each day is good, not always the best—certainly there are stressors, worries occasionally, but as I have grown closer to God, those happen less and less often. Easily, I spot the good things—my plants need rain and watering, rain smothers out some of the pollen that plaques so many of my relatives and friends; there are plentiful birds showing up to my feeder and that is a source of entertainment for me; my health and eyesight are good; I am blessed with family nearby as well as many friends; I am involved with a great church and enjoy the various bible studies I attend, and so much more.
And then of course, there is the ocean out my front window, while I get to enjoy the sights of the sound while looking at birds, working in the kitchen and doing dishes. Each day to me is present and poignant, and there are so many reasons for me to be thankful. I get a gift of the present daily, if not several times a day.
Do you look for gifts in your day? Blessedly, mine feel easy to spot. I pray you find good things in each day. He gives abundant presents; open your eyes to see, your ears to hear, your hearts to receive.
Thank You, Lord for the many gifts your Presence have given me in my everyday present. You have blessed me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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