With the weather warming and all of us getting outside, there are so many things we can now see, hear, smell, and feel to be thankful for. Especially now that most of my spring yard work is behind me! Counting our blessings comes easy to us in spring, when cabin fever no longer renders them inaccessible. However, most blessings are rarely or ever counted, left out in the cold every year. Ironically, they tend to be some of the most life-giving entities God has gifted us with (Click to tweet). So in preparation for a summer of fun, here are three things we all desperately need that I can’t recall ever thanking God for. And in a dad-like attempt to be fun myself, I’ll preface each with a stereotypical, summery surfer saying (stellar!). Just another blessing for you. You’re welcome.
A toilet when there’s no gravity. Yikes.
Whoa, heavy dude.
I’m guessing when you stepped outside this morning, the force of your legs pushing against the ground didn’t propel you off into a rather cold, lonely, unpleasant death in the vacuum of space. Bonus. And most likely those steps brought you out into a world that didn’t immediately turn you into a melted river of protoplasm or I-cicle, as our planet continues to maintain a well-designed distance from our wonderfully bright and warm star. Phew! And when you went back indoors to relieve your lemonade-filled bladder, I’ll bet your waste dropped nicely into the toilet instead of floating around making a big…well, more on that later. Doctor humor, sorry. The point is this: without gravity, we’d have a pretty lousy day – every day. Heck of an idea God, thanks!
Those terrific tubes! (internet pic)
Totally tubular!
OK, it’s later! Yes, it would be a rather nasty time cleaning up waste that never stays in the toilet. Any parent has learned that from their kids even with gravity present! However, that’s nothing compared to never being able to get the waste out there in the first place. The incredibly intricate way our 25 feet of intestinal tubing both get the goods and deport the dung assures health, relief, and literally life. And yet I’ve never sung a hymn praising God for poo. This gift is neither gross nor sacrilege; it’s a grace we all quite viscerally understand. So as our tubes toil to keep us movin’ this summer, let’s be all the more thankful God gave them to us. Much appreciated!
Orange you thankful?
That smells funky man.
We can also be thankful for the senses we’ve been given that help us not put organisms into our tubes to make them grumpy. But funky as it may be, one of the most common culprits is also one of our greatest allies: mold. Only 93 years ago, Alexander Fleming discovered by “accident” that a blob of mold that had found its way into one of his petri dishes killed the bacteria being grown there. A few years later, the responsible agent penicillin was isolated for widespread medicinal use, issuing in the age of antibiotics. Mold has saved countless lives and single-handedly increased human longevity by many years, both through the circumstance and science God issued to us. So as our summer potato salad warms up to little creatures we’d rather do without, keep molding an attitude of gratitude all year long.
Of course, there are so many crucial yet forgotten blessings to add to a list like this (very honorable mentions include skin, air, every heartbeat, the moon, consciousness, etc.). And with little effort, you could list hundreds of your own. So do it! God deserves it, and it’s a great way to pass a balmy evening out in the summer sun. Even better, any of you can help literally hundreds of others experience these small but vital blessings as well, via our partner Bless BIG’s wonderfully high impact-per-dollar charities for causes you love. Make someone else thankful today too!
Up for more doctor jokes? You’ll find plenty in my free e-book series Healing Hereafter, where we explore many more mercies of God and also search for answers where they’re not as apparent. Download in just two clicks, with the first here!
