Thanks and Praise

Today is an amazing day. The rhythm of life has paused in the United States so that people may gather and give thanks. The thanks are wrapped in a package of f's: friends, family, food and football. Through them all, we celebrate life.

For some, though, there's another f that characterizes the day: forgotten. Maybe it's the prisoner or the homeless or the odd relative; maybe it's God or some obligation or an old acquaintence that each New Year's Eve we pledge to remember. If we try hard enough, these can be brought to mind. For many more of us, however, the forgetting goes even deeper and is much harder to rectify: we have forgotten who we are.

When I was growing up, I was convinced that I was worth nothing. As the years have passed, however, I have discovered that to my Creator, I am worth everything. To my Savior, I was important enough that He came, died and rose so that I would live in hope and not fear. To the Spirit, if I am willing, I am an instrument of peace and an ambassador of reconciliation.

I have realized that I am not special and yet I am completely special because we all are precious in God's sight. This is the wonder of our existence: God shows no partiality. We can't earn God's love and we can't lose it either. If God's love were conditional, then God wouldn't be perfect Love, but He is. Who we are is worthy of wonder: we are the offspring of God. We are made in God's image. We are filled with God's presence. That presence becomes more and more evident as we let it transform us.

That each of us is wonderful in God's eyes leaves me full of wonder. For this, I give thanks and praise.