Another Gift? Thank You Father

Another Gift?  Thank You Father - written by Elder Mike

Almost every morning, as the sun begins to rise, I am blessed to see some of the most beautiful sunrises you could imagine.  I know you’ve seen your share too, and are probably wondering what's so special about my sunrises.  You see, I am a school bus driver.
 
I hope that my admission inspires you to pray for me, but before you do, let me say that it is an occupation, not without its rewards.  The least of which are the sunrises!

A school bus is designed first with safety in mind, and one of those features is the height of the inside floor.  It is purposefully built to be higher than most all other vehicles on the road to literally lift the students above most accidents.  As the driver, it gives me not only an excellent point of view of the traffic around me, but a much better view of the horizon.

Why am I so impressed by sunrises?  Perhaps it is my love of nature in general.  I was “born again” while walking to my next merit badge class during summer camp at Rodney Boy Scout Reservation.  As I walked alone that afternoon, I found myself contemplating the majesty of the creation that surrounded me right then and there, and how insignificant I was in the grand scheme of things, and yet God cared for me, as He did everything else that I could and could not see.

Today, I still have that feeling of insignificance.  Some mornings, I see things that are so very beautiful and awe inspiring that I regret that I am unable to quickly snap a picture to share with everyone else.  I begin to feel sorry for those who do not have my point of view from the front of my bus, or those in traffic, to rushed getting to work to take in the beauty of the day.

But this day, I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises yet as I turned off of route 13 north onto Bolden Boulevard.  Although not a very picturesque section of town, off in the distance, through a patch of naked winter trees, with the still deep red and orange glow in the cloudless sky, was half of the sun peeking up from behind the silhouette of the houses on the hill.

As my heart began to fill with hope with the promise of the new day, I also felt relaxed and at peace.  However, I again lamented about not being able to snap a quick shot of this most recent example of the Father’s artistic capabilities.  While getting over the regret of another lost opportunity, I realized I had a job to focus on and rushed drivers to look out for as well.

I began to intentionally focus on my mental picture of that sunrise, trying to burn it into my brain in hopes of never forgetting the peace it gave me, when suddenly I found myself saying in a soft whisper, “Thank you Father.”
 
All my feelings of regret and insignificance quickly disappeared as I realized that the gift of THAT sunrise was for me and me alone.  The creator of the universe, while spinning the earth to start a new day for ALL of His creation took time to create a sunrise just for me!

Although I believe He gives us gifts that He intends for us to share, I also believe the Father gives us gifts for us to cherish and hold close to our hearts, gifts that let us know just how special we are to Him.  He continues to give us gifts each and every day to sustain us like “our daily bread”, but sometimes the gifts are “Just because I love you”.

And so my prayer is simply this, of the many things we forget to do each day, may we never forget to whisper “Thank You Father.”