I Took It For Granted

I did not know it is a gift—the ability to enjoy with gusto the sumptuous taste of a gourmet cuisine and pick out the rich blend of spices in it, or savour the simple delight of home-cooked meal.

I did not know it is a gift until even the best prepared meal tasted like sawdust and with tears I struggled to swallow it.

I did not know it is a gift—to take a whiff of the fragrance floating from a drop of a sweet floral perfume or the creamy aroma from the brilliant yellow banana or the fruity smell of the succulent orange-yellow mango.



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I did not know that to be a gift until I sniffed and sniffed, and found no difference between the three of them. The rich intoxicating flavour of the sweet mango and the long golden neck of J'Adore triggered only a memory.

A precious gift—just to draw a deep breath and savour the sweet freshness of the air after the rain.

No one told me it is a gift—to look with longing at the platter of delight rich in colours set before me, to scoop a spoonful, place it in my mouth, chew it, turn it around, savour it and swallow it.

I did not know this to be a gift too, until I listened to the lady who could not chew without excruciating pain and read the story of the one who could not swallow even a spoonful without reeling in agonizing pain. It was when I hungered for food, starred at it in front of me but could not eat it, only then did I valued the taste of good food and the song below had a new meaning to me. I wondered how many have food, and can eat but take that for granted.

Some have food but cannot eat.

Some can eat but have no food.

We have food and we can it.

Glory be to thee, O Lord.

I did not know how noisy the flow of air I breath in was until, for a brief moment, it was turned off, and silence became amazingly quiet. So quiet, I longed to hold on to it for much longer. I did not know this silence too is a gift.

Many precious gifts I receive every moment of each passing day. How so often I treat them with indifference because I have taken it for granted I would always have them. Until breathing took as much effort as running a marathon and as noisy as the blaring of the klaxon from the boat passing by on the Lake down the road.

Not ever again would I take for granted the precious gift of breath—the fuel for life. Now I know how precious the gift of breath is, I choose to use every breath He has given me to fuel a high praise due only to Him.

What about the precious gift of families and friends?

How often have we carelessly watch our relationships go stale or sour. We take for granted the precious people God has blessed our lives with. We complain about what they failed to do, how they fail to meet our unspoken expectations and magnify their shortcomings. We fail to appreciate the efforts they make and their strengths. And we expect them always to be there for us.

Make time and effort to appreciate those with whom you relate while you have them. Let them know you care while it has meaning to them. It is not a weakness to show you care about those God has blessed your life with it. It takes strength of character to show love without fear. Perfect love cast out fear. Your parents, son, daughter, sister, brother, wife and husband have been placed in your life for a special purpose. They are precious gifts of God to you. There will always be issues to deal with but we have to learn to separate the issues from the person, deal with the issues and cherish the moments we share together.

These moments you share making memories are precious. It is a gift. Appreciate God for it.

We plan for tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and beyond. Many times without a thought. Yet we have tomorrow only if God wills. We take life for granted and fail to nurture it as a precious gift. We forget that the breath of life is but a wisp of vapour, a mist, we can not hold to it—it is given. It is a precious gift.

If you can pick up your jogging shoes, lace them up and go for a jog, you are without excuse, you are blessed. Do it now, don’t delay. You have a great gift of good health, strength and vitality.

Appreciate what you have today. Don’t wait until you have lost these gifts or at the brink of loosing it before you appreciate how precious they are.

I ask God for the grace to pause as often as possible each day to appreciate and give thanks for the many precious gifts I am blessed with, which I have taken for granted in the past.

Nudge me with the gentle touch of Your Holy Spirit, dear Lord, help me to take note of the blessings You daily pour into my life and appreciate them now. I don’t want to wait until something threatens them.

If I can cause you to pause for a moment today to count the many precious gifts you have taken for granted and for which you ought to give praise to God, then is my joy full.

Will you pause now and reflect on some of the blessings you have taken for granted? Will you take account of some of these precious gifts and give thanks to God for them?

Did you? If yes, share your experience in the comments box below.