It is a pleasant Saturday evening, and I am sitting in my prison cell...
...quietly recounting many of the benefits and blessings the Lord has graciously bestowed upon me.
Not because of anything good that I've done, but for His mercy's sake.
Earlier today, I had to say goodbye to a dear friend who made the long journey across hundreds of miles to spend two days with me in sweet and precious fellowship. And because the weather was mild: we were able to go outside and spend some of our visiting time in a small patio yard that is open for the inmates and their families and friends.
And one thing I learned from today's visit is to be thankful for all things the Lord has allowed to come into my life, to include even the smallest of blessings, like the sun, for instance. As it says in the Bible, "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun" (Ecclesiastes 11:7).
I never noticed this verse before until my friend pointed it out to me. Simply being able to walk outdoors to enjoy the warmth of the sun is a blessing by itself. It's a gift from God, which the Bible describes as a 'sweet' thing.
Fresh air and sunshine, the grass and trees, water, animals, music, laughter and friendship are things to be thankful for. Nothing in life is to be overlooked. Quietness, too, is a gift from God. So is a bright moon in an otherwise dark sky.
D.B.
Not because of anything good that I've done, but for His mercy's sake.
Earlier today, I had to say goodbye to a dear friend who made the long journey across hundreds of miles to spend two days with me in sweet and precious fellowship. And because the weather was mild: we were able to go outside and spend some of our visiting time in a small patio yard that is open for the inmates and their families and friends.
And one thing I learned from today's visit is to be thankful for all things the Lord has allowed to come into my life, to include even the smallest of blessings, like the sun, for instance. As it says in the Bible, "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun" (Ecclesiastes 11:7).
I never noticed this verse before until my friend pointed it out to me. Simply being able to walk outdoors to enjoy the warmth of the sun is a blessing by itself. It's a gift from God, which the Bible describes as a 'sweet' thing.
Fresh air and sunshine, the grass and trees, water, animals, music, laughter and friendship are things to be thankful for. Nothing in life is to be overlooked. Quietness, too, is a gift from God. So is a bright moon in an otherwise dark sky.
D.B.
