Unearned

Isn’t this spot gorgeous? Such an iconic view in the Pacific Northwest! It has so many various elements of nature; volcanic rock, evergreen forest, peaceful lake, majestic peaks. There is even snow underfoot, although I took this photo in July. The scene is capped off by the clear blue sky. This is the best of the Pacific Northwest. How lucky we are to live here, or visit for a day, among such magnificent beauty.

What have we done to deserve this? Being out here with my beloved camera gives me great joy, unearned, unmerited, pure, simple joy. And gratitude – what a gift to have this glorious spectacle close to home. When I’m here, I can’t even begin to count my blessings, because they are so many and so overwhelming; the lush green of the forest, the calm stillness of the lake, the majesty of the mountains, the clean, crisp mountain air. All the glorious gifts of creation, given to us freely by our God, not because of anything we’ve done to earn such a generous gift, but just because He loves us.

Why is it so easy to forget how blessed we are? We have plenty of songs and Scripture verses that tell us to give thanks for our blessings. An old favorite is this:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, 

Call for songs of loudest praise.

I’ve always been curious about the line later in the hymn - Here I raise my Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12, NKJV).  Turns out the word Ebenezer is a translation of the phrase Stone of Help. So, here we are with yet another reason to be grateful – it’s not just the many blessings, it’s also the source of the blessings, our Stone of Help, the Fount of every blessing, our generous, loving God.   

We have a blessing from the past in the wisdom of this hymn. The natural beauty that surrounds us is a blessing for today. And our faith tells us there are still more blessings to come in the future. How soothing it can be to remember how blest we are.