Did you see that sunset last night? It was so beautiful that when I was driving from Waynesboro heading west, I was distracted by it, and nearly ran off the road in my neighborhood. This morning’s sunrise was the same way. I found myself wanting to watch it rather than do any reading (or writing, for that matter).

G. K. Chesterton writes that creation is God’s gift to us. We all delight in different things. I love geese and enjoy the sound of them calling out to each other as they fly overhead in formation. I enjoy the smell of fresh-cut grass and the smell of the woods in autumn. I love to feel sand between my toes and hear the sound of crashing waves at the beach. I even like the silence after a fresh snowfall. I’d bet that you love some of those things, too. They are gifts from God to us.

Chesterton writes that although the sun probably will rise tomorrow, it doesn’t have to. Perhaps God says, “Arise! Go forth!” each day. He goes on to say that grass didn’t have to be green. God could have made it purple if he wished. There are no real “laws” of nature, without God putting everything in motion and holding it all together as Colossians 1:16-17 says. God can do whatever he wants. He makes frogs jump and birds fly and water runs downhill not because of laws, Chesterton writes, but because God wishes them to do so. He says, “It is not a necessity, though we can count on it practically, we have no right to says that it always must happen.”

As you walk outside today, wherever you are, take notice of the fabulous gift God has given you today. Smile and give thanks.