Our blessings

Yesterday I had the privilege of being the leader for Children's church. I had a mixture of boys and girls from ages 6 - 9. When we had completed the lesson, the singing, the praying, and the activities suggested for that day, we still had some time left. I decided to discuss this being the month for giving thanks and asked everyone to think a moment about the important things in their life and what they were thankful for. I found it oddly amusing the different answers between boys and girls. The boys answers ranged from my X-Box, my football, getting to play soccer, my DS, etc. Most of them were thankful for either a material item or a chance to be on a sports team. When I polled the girls, I was amazed at the depth of difference. The girls were thankful for their parents, their family, their health, their friends. But one girl blew me away. In all the years of giving thanks for everything I am blessed with and all my years hearing others give their testimonies and their blessings, I have never heard this answer. When I asked one young girl of 9 what she was most thankful for, without hesitation, she simply said Life. How true is that. When you get right down to the nitty-gritty, that one simple word covers it all. Life. The simple, beautiful act of simply being. Everything we have, everything we are and everything we do is because we have Life. What a poignant answer so filled with reverance and awe that God can give us the one thing that nothing or nobody else can. Life. Out of the mouth of babes. It is definitely food for thought.