Dear God, I thank you!!!

Dearest Father, I greet you most sincerely. I know you might probably be thinking, hey, son, what do you want this time? Yes, because the last time I came, it was to ask you for a favor. And not only the last time, but even the one before. And I remember, that its been a long while I came, because all has been well with me, and there has not been a reason to come back, for I only come to ask, seek, and knock. I only come to pin you down to your promises and faithfulness towards me. And after you’ve granted my request, I take off again, leaving your hands outstretched, without returning a hug.

But you know what Dad; I am here today, not because I need a favor. I am here to love you, to look at your face, to touch your beards, to run errands for you, to embrace you, in fact Dear Daddy, I am here to thank you.

I realize my lack of adequate love for you, Dad. And I wonder how you would have felt, when I did not return that hug. I realize that when I was in pain, when I was in sorrow, when things were not going on well with me, and events did not turn out the way I wanted and expected, I did not thank you. I did not even feel it was necessary. This is because I was selfish, Dad. I was only concerned about the way I wanted things to go, and did not bother to know how you wanted it. This is because I did not trust you enough, even when you promised that as long I was in your secret place, I would abide under your protection. I cried, ranted and closed my eyes, and so I did not see, that you wee right there beside me, I did not see, that you wee offering me something, a red rose, a surprise. But I thank you, that even after all those times, you did not grow weary of waiting for my love, you did not grow angry for not getting a loving gratitude, a loving hug. You stood there, and loved me, you never moved an inch.

But Dad, do you know why, again, I never remembered to thank you all this while? I have given it so much thought, and I think I have eventually discovered these. First, Dad, I have been preoccupied with the wonders of your gifts, that I have forgotten how wonderful you, the giver, really are. I have loved your gifts so much, that I have not loved you enough. And the times I pretended to love you, it was because I needed some of those gifts of yours. A real opportunist, I really feel like one now. To me, it wasn’t you who I adored, it wasn’t you who I worshipped, you weren’t an end to my material desires, you were, instead, a means. I’m sorry, Dad, for those times, when I worshipped pride, wealth, and success, with you as a means. And that is why, I didn’t thank you, when you offered them to me, because when I had them, I felt I already had my ultimate good, when I had them, I felt, my end was met, when you gave them to me, I felt there was nothing more.

And so I didn’t realize, that you, not them, are my ultimate good, you, not them, are my final everything. And so now, I thank you. I realize now, Dad, that I should look beyond the value of the gifts, and appreciate you Father, who are the giver. I should look beyond the beauty of these gifts, and know, that without you, there wouldn’t have been gifts. I know also, that apart from looking beyond these wonderful gifts, I should also look at these gifts, with appreciation, knowing so well that, I once was without them, that I could have been without them, and the fact that I have them, means I should be grateful.

Oh Daddy, I am so ashamed of myself, for I who you have called your son, your chosen one, your beloved, am the one who have taken you for granted. I who you have willed all the greatness of your divinity, all the marvels of your wisdom, I am the one who has taken you for granted. And yet, this foreigner, Naaman the Syrian, knew to give thanks, when you only granted him, a taste of your goodness, when he only tasted the wonder of your loving kindness. And yet I, who swim in it daily, am negligent, and indifferent. Even the Samaritan, whom today you cured of leprosy, came back and gave you thanks. I was cured of diseases worse than leprosy, and when I was cured, I didn’t have to shout from a distance, I didn’t have to bear it for so long, you sought me, and healed me.

In fact, Dad, know this, I love you, and though I have not been showing this before now, I will start by saying thanks, in any possible way I can, my whole life will be filled with gratitude, for your precious name’s sake, and for your wonderful work’s sake.

It is said Dad, that you do not know what you have, until you lose it. My dear father, may I never be in that situation. May I know you, and seeing the wonders of your being and love, may I forever be full of gratitude, that in doing so, I may forever know you, and have you, and that I may never lose you.

Thank you Dad!!!

With love, your beloved son!!!