Vessel

Oh man.

We are all given what we are given by the Lord Almighty. Most of us: two eyes, two arms, to legs, 10 fingers and 10 toes. The building parts of the vessel given to carry our soul by God, most commonly known as the body.  I have never been more thankful for this vessel.

Think about it....

My eyes... they help me see all of God's creations, all of his children. They provide me a way to see, read, and therefore understand. They allow me to witness the beauty of the world, art, nature, people. They own their own hue, unique to me (and maybe my Grandfather), and distinguish my creation by God from someone else's. Ocean blue, God knew I would be a beach rat....

My ears... hang close to my brain, allowing the words of God and his children to enter my consciousness quickly. God blessed me with two of these to listen. When properly done, listening leads to wisdom. With these ears, I can experience the pleasure of hearing a familiar voice of a friend, and even the beauty of music (oh how I love music).

My arms and hands... my arms, oh they are getting stronger with time. I was weak, but I chose to stop letting them go to waste. My hands, God gave me hands to feel, to comfort a loved one, to hug, shake hands, cover my eyes in a scary movie. My arms and hands allow me to do the work I feel called to do, to nurse others to better health. God's blessings of arms and legs allow me to type these words now, to lift myself out of bed to a new day, to throw my arms in the air in exultation of Him.

My legs and feet.... oh how they take me places. Without them, we would go nowhere. We would sit idly, and in no way is that the way God wants us to live and help others. My legs and feet are strong, they allow me to walk, run, dance, skip, jump, and most importantly, kneel before Him.

My stomach... one of the toughest to see the beauty of, it is such a blessing by God. Beyond the anatomical and digestive purposes, the stomach is the feel good center given to us by Him. He gave us stomachs to laugh, to sing deeply, to feel warm inside when we are feeling good. In babies, their stomach is their connection to their mothers. Big or small, round or flat, stomachs are beautiful, as is mine, and I am thankful by God.

God gave me my height, my weight, my shape, my skin tone, my eye color, hair color, limb structure, for a reason. For the first time in my life, I am one with my body, with my vessel, and am completely, 100% satisfied with it. I am who I am, and this body is what God gave me. What mortal gift in the flesh is better than our own personal container for our soul and our spirit, that allows us to experience life in its fullest? I, by no means, walk around in a cocky manner, but I do love the way I look now and see my body as more than just an appearance. Its not cocky, its confident. Its the confidence in the sense of if someone has something negative to say about it, I do not care, because nothing can change what I see, the good I see, given to me directly by my God.

Thank God for our bodies and our health and the opportunities we have that go along with them.