It's All Good

31 So God saw everything that He made, and behold it was very good.-;Genesis 1:31

I love to marvel at God's creation... from the most magnificent, like mountain views and the Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, bubble netting whales, glaciers, icebergs; to the everyday beauty of cumulus clouds, sunsets, fireflies, babies, wild flowers... both lists could go on and on and on.  And indeed, it is all VERY good.

At the center of my spirituality is gratitude.  It keeps me mindful of all of my blessings.  Creation makes me particularly grateful.  When I take a quiet hike in the woods, my soul fills with peace.  I get that same feeling to a lesser or greater extent when I take the time to marvel at any of the things in my list above.

Being grateful reminds me that there is a Giver.  There is Someone to be grateful to. It takes the focus off what *I* have done for myself and shifts it to the One who has made it possible.  Now, I am not the best at giving thanks at meal time or even expressing out loud when I feel grateful.  But there are times when that sense of gratitude overwhelms me.  It starts at my toes and fills me, body and soul and spirit, until it bubbles out in pure joy.  It happened when I was standing on an Alaskan glacier and looking at the beauty all around me.  It also frequently happens when Richard and I have all our family at the house and we just can't help but see what REALLY matters in this world.  And after 10 years of my husband going back and forth to the middle east for differing periods of time, I often look at him and have that bubble-up gratitude that he is home and retired and by my side.

There is a popular phrase that is used to make those who might have a social slip or other lapse more comfortable... "It's all good."  It is all good.  It is very good.  God said so.

Holy God,
I am humbled and amazed at all of your creation.  Help me to keep that sense of awe and gratitude all of my life.  Amen.