I thank God for my senses, which I do not do very often. With my eyes, I am able to take great delight in colors and see events unfolding. With my ears, I get enraptured by sounds and rhythms, both man-made and those in nature. With my smell I can go where the air is sweet and avoid where it stinks. With taste, I marvel at the different pleasures that my tongue can bring me. With touch, I can feel the earth beneath my feet, the cool wind upon my face and the warmth of of the breeze on my skin.
My senses not only bring me great pleasure, they also direct me where to go, what to do and how to move on. I often find my heart feeling like it is bursting with joy at the pleasure my sense bring. It is the same sense make me aware of sadness, sometimes so intense like my heart would burst. Same senses. Different experiences. The same feeling that my heart can’t seem to contain.
There are times of great happiness. I laugh and laugh and laugh so hard I soon find myself in tears. There are times of sadness: sometimes I understand; other times I don’t. Same tears. Different experiences. The same tears of both joy and sorrow.
Life is good. There is so much to be thankful for. There is so much joy, I wonder where it comes from. There ares imply so many wonderful people coming my way. I wonder what I have done to deserve all this. Life is hard. There is so much that could be better. I work hard to save myself and those I love from all the trial and tribulations of life. Sometimes, I cry out, “I do not deserve this.” Same life. Different circumstances. The same person going through it all.
I have been told and I believe that life is an unmerited gift from a loving God. In my becoming and my life’s unfolding, I have seen and felt His presence more times I can remember. Yet, I long to feel Him with my senses. I want to see His face, taste the warmth of His embrace, hear His voice talking to me, touch His hands that guide me, and smell the fragrance of His presence. He has no face I can see, nor a voice I can hear, nor a hand I can hold.
I have been told and I believe that God comes to me through the persons he sends to my life. I love my family for they have been to me the image of the God I cannot see. And I thank God for them. I love my friends for they have been the voice of the God I cannot hear. And I thank God for them. I love nature and the beauty around me for through them I get a whiff of the fragrance of the God I cannot smell. And thank God for the world where God has put me in.
I have my senses to feel the world and the people around me. The world and the people around me help me sense the power that put me here. I love this set-up. Thank You, whoever You are and wherever You are.
I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
~Psalm 145
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”
Luke 17:11-19