A Month of Thankfulness: Day 21

Day 21: I'm thankful for my five senses...sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste .

I sometimes...no...I oftentimes take these senses for granted. Each one of them is so important in how we react to things in our everyday life. For instance let's talk about something as simple as a cherry pie. Would it be as good if we didn't have these five senses? Or would it even be good at all? Take an imaginary walk into my kitchen. Imagine I have a cherry pie that I have just taken out of the oven. You can SEE the beautiful flaky crust with bits of dark red cherry juice coming out the vent holes on top. Now SMELL the aroma of the cherries. Probably you could tell it was a cherry pie even if you had not seen it. But that smell makes it seem even more delicious. Perhaps you can even HEAR a few little bubbling pops as it finishes up it's cooking cycle. I cut a slice of hot-out-of-the-oven cherry pie and put it on a serving plate for you. As you pick it up, you can FEEL the warmth in your fingertips. You take the fork, cut off a bite-size portion and put it in your mouth and TASTE the delicious sweet/tart delicacy. Ahhh. The combination of all five senses gives a completeness to this experience.

Just imagine what the loss of one or more of these senses would be like. People who have lost their sense of taste or smell say that they just really don't care for food much anymore. Those who have lost their vision have to be told in very descriptive words what things look like. And people who have lost their sense of touch...for example someone with nerve damage or even leprosy...are at a very high risk of injuring themselves and not even knowing it until infection has set in.

I was remembering Helen Keller this morning. She was born missing two senses...sight and hearing. And this in turn caused her to also not be able to talk. Yet most anyone you ask will know who Helen Keller was. She was able to have a fuller life than most people even though she was what we would call severely handicapped. And it made me take a look at myself and ask this question: "Am I doing all I can with what God gave me?" I'm pretty sure I'm not. So today I want to be more aware of the blessings of my senses and all the opportunies God has given me to use them. I hope you will too!

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

May God bless you!

Marilyn