This old body of mine doesn’t seem to bounce back the way it once did. The antibiotics are slowly doing their job so I shouldn’t complain. It has given me a little more rest/think time.
I received an email that got me thinking about gifts. Over our lives we have all received scads of them. Some have come in very elegant wrapping with a beautiful bow on the top. Others have come wrapped much less ornately. Others yet, maybe even not wrapped at all. Now how do we treat all gifts we just rip off the wrapping to get at what ever is contained within. It is what is contained within that is what we want, will possibly enjoy and even treasure. When it comes right down to it, how the gift is wrapped makes very little if any difference at all. The gift is not the fancy wrapping or ornate packaging that may surround the gift, it is none of those things. The gift is what is contained within.
Now that got me thinking about life. Life is a gift from God. In my head that is a fact I have known and accepted all of my life. Sadly, for me it has only been this past few years that I have been able to take that knowledge from my head and feel it in my heart, which is where it really counts. Life well, It is one of those things we just take for granted. I am alive today and will be alive tomorrow, next week, next year……
With my heart I have been through a couple of episodes when the doctors just didn’t think I would survive. By the grace of God, here I am. I have come to realize every minute of life is a gift and should be appreciated as such. This gift of life is not like say the gift of a book, where we read it then put it on a shelf and can be comfortable knowing it will always be there. The gift of life is given to us on an ongoing basis, moment by moment, minute by minute. We have repeatedly received this gift so often and for so long we just take it for granted it is a gift that will just keep coming. We have to learn to appreciate the gift of each moment as we really never do know when this seemingly endless supply of gifted moments will suddenly stop.
Look around at your life. All that you see around you is the wrappings that the gift of your life has come in. Some fancy, some not so much. Is it the wrappings that determine the quality of a gift?
Dying mans daily journal 
Great post. I enjoy reading your blog.
This is Truth at the most profound level, Bill. Every breath is a gift that gives us the ability to go to our (Divine-given) inner beauty and to know what peace really is. We can take the time to see that or we can rob ourselves by concentrating on everything external.
When I am frolicky and feel full of fun, I hear myself thinking, “I’m going to ride this breath to fulfillment.”
I’ll email a link to you. You can investigate it and see how you feel about some profoundly beautiful teachings about this.
You are a gift that came in gold wrapping.
Awwwww……Juanita said it so well!
That staying in NOW and appreciating it for all it’s worth is such a basic, simple thing–with countless rewards.
It’s amazing how the simple things work like that, huh?
(I sure hope you’re feeling better and not pushin’ it……JUST sayin’…….)
You’re gonna run outta ears……..
Hi Bill,
What a great post! What a great analogy. When I think back on some of the most beautifully wrapped gifts I received, when I opened them I have to admit to sometimes being disappointed about what was inside and some gifts that I have received that were never wrapped, or wrapped in a newspaper or plastic bag were some of the best and most precious gifts I received -treasures you called them.
The subject, “the gifts” made me think about the people in my life. Often, it is not the outside wrapping (prettiest people) who are near and dear to my heart. It is what is inside a person that is the true gift. Their love, friendship, humour, compassion, or their willingness to give of themselves is truly a gift. Some gifts are in your life only for a short while, others like the book on the shelf, and can be comfortable knowing they will always be there for you should you need them.
Thank you for getting me to take a moment out of my day and think about the many gifts in my life – including you- my wonderful Sean Connery/Tom Cruise look-a-like cousin!!
I hope you are feeling much better soon. In your honour, I feel a random act of kindness coming on. I know you love coffee, so I will pass a little gift on to someone – wrapped in a Tim Horton’s coffee cup!
As I sit in the hospital day by day, watching as my mom is dying, I treasure the memories of the gift that she and my Dad were. They lived their lives, generously giving of themselves to so many. My thoughts as I am waiting are contained on my blog: http://www.daily-devotionals.com/2011/10/oh-death-where-is-thy-sting/
My thoughts and prayers are with your mother, you and your entire family. I have said it many times and I do believe it it much harder on the families. I visited your site and left you a short message, I congratulate you on your attitude and the strength of your belief system.
Bill