Gift giving

Health is not a given, it is a gift.


Each day that you wake up with working muscles in your legs it is a gift.
Each day you step out of bed on your own and walk to the kitchen to make yourself breakfast - or just grab a glass of water - it is a gift.
Every time you can go for a walk is a gift.
When you take a breath without thinking about it - that is a gift.
Every day spent without pain in your bones and aching in your joints is a gift.
Every time you properly digest food is a gift.
When you can open your eyes and see the world around you (even if it may be a bit blurry) you are experiencing a marvelous gift.
When you smile the muscles in your face are used and the message from your brain is telling them to fire up. That, too, is a gift.
A steady hand and clear speech is a gift.
The ability to speak at all is a precious gift.
Your ability to hold a cup, grasp a pencil or steering wheel of a car is a gift....


Every day we go through the motions and expect that our bodies will go along, too. What we fail to recognize is the brilliant design and immense blessing we are experiencing each time that goes as planned. We take it for granted. We assume our bodies will do as we want them to. But sometimes they won't and for some people they never will. Some people live with constant pain or the inability to perform the most basic of tasks. Are they being cheated? Aren't we all supposed to have health in the same plentiful abundance? I believe the answer is no. Some people have the gift of perfect health and others don't have that gift. They have a different gift.
Having ill health or limited health opens the door for other blessings - like the blessing of having the world slowed down and God's voice turned up. Sometimes God uses the people with the worst of health to convey the most fundamental messages to people here on earth. They become ambassadors and speakers for Christ through what they lack, not the strength they have. God tells us that he works in our weakness and he meant more then emotional or spiritual weakness. God works straight through our physical weakness.

Maybe those of us who are physically weak or failing should be thanking God. He said he works best when we are weak. Our own strength could stand in the way of God's great power. The health I have is a gift but the weakness I have is a gift as well. God showers me with blessings each morning as I wake up and experience the joy of a new day that he has created. He showers me with blessings in my weakness by revealing more of himself to me and opening my eyes to more and more of his wonderful truth.
Nothing is wasted. It is all a precious, magnificent gift.