Dear Reader:

Isn’t it always a shock when we read something that really impresses us…only to discover that we have read that exact book passage, phrase, or message before? Time diminished the memory but not the effect on our psyche…our being.

This is true of Oz Mandino’s novel…“The Greatest Salesman in the World” …first published in 1968 and then again in the 80’s. I was in college when it first came out and this book was seen all over campus… especially among the professors. I had forgotten how powerfully it affected me as a nineteen-year-old that year.

I vaguely remember it had something to do with 10 ancient scrolls that contained one lesson to remember each day of our lives…starting with the first scroll…that read:

“Today I will begin a new life…and greet each day with love in my heart.”

Every day that we wake up breathing…the world of possibilities greet us…are we making the most of this miracle?

Don’t we all wish we could greet each day as a possibility at a new life or, at least, a change in it?

Remember how we looked so forward to each new day as a child on Christmas morning..that same love in our hearts…filled with anticipation amid all the excitement of a traditional Christmas celebration with loved ones?

I have made a note to myself to keep working on a positive approach to each new day  I am grateful..keeping hope alive and my heart filled with a bigger appreciation for life.

The one “scroll” that really appealed to me yesterday (while browsing through the list) was

*4. “I am nature’s greatest miracle.“

Since the beginning of time never has there been another with my mind, my heart, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my hair, my mouth. None that came before, none that live today, and none that come tomorrow can walk and talk and move and think exactly like me. All men are my brothers yet I am different from each. I am a unique creature.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

I am not on this earth by chance. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

I have been given eyes to see and a mind to think and now I know a great secret of life for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. I will no longer be fooled by the garments they wear for mine eyes are open. I will look beyond the cloth and I will not be deceived.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

No beast, no plant, no wind, no rain, no rock, no lake had the same beginning as I, for I was conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose. In the past I have not considered this fact but it will henceforth shape and guide my life.

Don’t we remember the adults, in our lives growing up, who always made us feel loved, secure, and special? Even when we were going through all those awkward stages of braces, too chubby, too skinny, pimples, etc.?

Through their loving eyes…our whole physical beings were mirrored into the person we would soon be…confident, strong, courageous, compassionate and adventuresome. Isn’t that how our loving God sees us…no matter what stage of life or age we are at?

So until tomorrow…We are children of God and as such always beautiful in our Creator’s eyes…so let’s make the most of each day of life… it is an unique gift from the One Who watches and waits to see how we follow our given passage.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

This time of year…the purples and blue hues take over the garden in the form of pansies, morning glories….the garden is starting to get ready for a long sleep and the beautiful darkening evening sky colors seem to anticipate this….the morning glories are climbing trees and popping out under decks, porches, and fences. I do believe they are in exploration moods.