everything is a gift, loved into existence

St Asterius of Amasea talks to us today about the world we're passing through in A Year with the Church Fathers. He says that it's like a tree that we rest under for an hour or so when we're traveling. We don't own the tree. We don't even own the shade or the grass that we sit on. It's all a temporary gift that God has given us, for our enjoyment in the moment, but passed on to someone else very shortly.

That's the whole earth... the whole universe. God has loved this creation into existence, and is continuing to love it into its current form. We are borrowing it for a short time, just a blink of an eye, and then it will pass on to someone else. What will we do with this great gift? Take it for granted? Ignore it while we stare at our computer screen? Stare blindly straight ahead, worrying about things that we can't control anyway?

Or will we appreciate what He's given us? Try to make it better? Share the beauty with others in our lives?

Every drop of water we drink, every breath we breathe, every morsel we eat... a gift. Let's savor what He's given us, and use the gifts He lavishes on us each day to make someone else's life better. Let's not take it for granted.

God, thanks for so many amazing gifts. Help us to treasure them.